RWBY: Lost Volumes
by ReadandEnjoy
Summary: AU The slightest change can alter the entire world. Follow all your favorite characters and some new ones in a new telling of the World of Remnant. Picking up at the end of Volume 3 this story will barely change anything at first, but by the end it will be completely different. We're stepping off the designated path, care to come along? M themes. NO SMUT! MAJOR SPOILERS!
1. Foreword

Fate really likes to **** with us, doesn't it?

All it takes in one moment, one roll of the dice and we can be cast adrift into a place not of our choosing. Life is like gambling in vegas.

But since it is within our power; Lets Rig that Game, Shall we?

Welcome to

RWBY: Butterfly Effect

A Fan AU

The Butterfly Effect Theory states that one tiny action can change the entire future and here we will do just that. Volume 3 was the turning point of the series, a transition from a lighthearted slice of life/action tale to one of tragedy and trials. But we wil not be stopping that turn here. Instead we will simple take the wheel in a different direction. Let's see where it goes!

 **Salutations**!

(as our favorite magnetically challenge girl would put it)

If you're reading this forward then you've taken the first plunge into what i hope will become a deek enough pool for those of us with whiplash from Volume 3 to soothe our pains and take a different journey in the World of Remnant.

Incase you missed the big **SPOILERS** tag in the synopsis here is another one for you:

 _ **The following AU FanFic contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the end of**_

 _ **RWBY Volume 3**_

 _ **And all Subsequent Volumes and arcs including (but not limited too) Character information, plot points, life and death struggles, and what exactly happened to that adorable fluff-roll of fun and badassery - Zwei.**_

 _ **You have been warned.**_

Now then; assuming you haven't backspaced like your boss is walking down the aisle to your station I suppose I better tell you exactly what you're about to dive into, yes?

Like a good many of the fanbase I was shocked, to say the least, at the conclusion of RWBY Volume 3. To cope with the trauma of the numerous scenes that threatened to break the fandom contained within I began re-writing some of them in my head. Faced with the lengthy time between Volume 3's daring end and Volume 4's premiere is decided to put those thoughts to paper and have created an AU where thing change and some of the fandom's wishes will be granted, but at price. I kept this to myself for a long time, and only recently have I dusted off my old keyboard (technically this one is new, but, meh!) and put those scrambled head-cannons to page and now I come to share those with you.

I will commit to no time tables, make no promise to your enjoyment, nor guarantee you anything I don't think I can deliver on. Like all fan-writers in our community I am doing this out of a desire to share and an excess of time which may or may not lapse.

That said i will promise this: Once I begin this process if I ever find I have lost interest or ability to finish this tale I will release my notes and charts detailing how thing would be so no one is left wondering where things were going to go.

This work picks up on RWBY Volume 3, Episode 12, at approx. 9;50

While Rated T initially this work will get darker and a few chapters before it does I'll move it into the M Rate. THERE WILL BE **NO** SMUT HERE!

The future M rating will be for content of violence and language.

Some sections will be near verbatim from the show, others clearly completely new, but trust me when I say the divergence begins on the fIrst page.

 **Disclaimer** : This work is a freely available piece of fiction based upon the hit web-series; RWBY. All Characters and Places, as well as the World of Remnant are property of Rooster Teeth and the creators of the original work. The creators of fan works such as this make no claim to ownership nor right to the content created by Rooster Teeth or their Affiliates.

Please remember to support the official release and Rooster Teeth for their work to bring this world to us.

Thanks to **Monty Oum** (May he Rest in Peace) for giving this to us, the fans.

Thanks to **Miles Luna** , and **Kerry Shawcross** for continuing this story.

And thanks to you, Fandom, for drawing, writing, and crafting the wonderful community we all share.

Now I've rambled long enough, but I have one final question;

" _Do you believe in Destiny…?"_


	2. C'est la vie C'est la Guerre

Chapter 1:

C'est la vie, C'est la Guerre…

C'est la Mort.

" _Yes."_

 _Twang!_ The string snapped from the gently relaxed fingertips that had drawn it.

 _Pfssst._ The soft fletching of the arrow whistled shortly, a mild hiss of the bite to come

 _Thud_! The fingers had been soft and the fletching plush but this sound was harsh and cruel, the breathless gasp that it brought was no less so. Yet the genuinely bemused smile was by leaps and bounds worse. Amber eyes twinkled with delight and the rush the dark haired young woman felt was as invigorating now as it had been when she'd first buried her knife deep in the same spot of her adoptive 'Father's" chest. He'd made the same gasp, the same grasping twitch of hands no longer under command of a mind that had fled before the shock of the strike. She could get used to this.

The red hair of the girl kneeling before her was as bright as the blood flowing from the base of the shaft. It was a slow bleed; the arrow was tight in its path and while surely fatal had not caused such a spout as to ruin the raven haired woman's dress, though perhaps such a pretty red would only have augmented the fine garment but that was not to be. C'est la vie.

The gleam of the assailant's eyes met the diminishing shimmer of her victim's. She almost felt sorry for the poor thing. Had she just stayed with the rest she could have lived a few minutes longer, maybe kissed that blonde she was so obviously pining over. They could have shared their final moments at the hands of the Grimm. But she had chosen this death when she challenged her on the top of that tower. C'est la guerre.

As the light of consciousness finally left those pain filled eyes and the head of the scarlet haired warrior dipped low, the body limp, the other girl stepped forward and with the gentleness of a loved one caressingly swept a lock of hair from her pretty face she touched her head and deemed to give her absolution. And to grant herself another rush. C'est la mort.

" **No**!" a cry from the side of the tower brought the raven witches hair whipping about as she turned to see the fury of a young girl with black and red hair and a red cloak explode in a blinding flash.

" **What**!" the glimmer of elation at a fresh kill was replaced in the amber eyes with fury and disbelief while her pretty face contorted to match her ugly soul. The night gave way to the encroaching ambush of light that swallowed the surround. The light expanded, the woman in the red dress shielding her eyes from the flash as the dragon that clung to the side of the destroyed tower cried out in pain and the night was filled with a flare greater than all the stars in the sky, purging the scene only to yield again to the black.

...There was silence.

 _Shadows swam in and out of focus;_ _Trees and rocks and shrubs turned solid and liquid in waves from holding shape to collapsing beneath their own weight. It was a dizzying sight. Yet as everything pulsed and moved and faded and formed one thing stayed constant among the chaos. In the center of the scene rest a large greyed stump, petrified with time, and upon it a single red bloom with its green salk vibrant and damp with dew._

 _A rose._

 _With a sudden stillness falling over the previously turbulent grove the rose turned toward the few gleams of light that pierced the canopy and slowly opened its petals. a small gust of wind and three petals fell from the rose, one scattering to the ground as the other two rested upon the dead wood of the stump before a single tiny drop of red fell from a thorn along the stem to ripple across its surface. The ripple boed out and became a wave that disturbed the eerie sudden calm of the grove. As the wave passed, the scene snapped, and her eyes opened with a start_.

Ruby sat upright with a deep gasp grasping at her side for her Crescent rose only to find nothing but a deeper panic at the absence of her weapon. This was but a momentary rush as her eyes darted about her surroundings brought her fluttering heart from thunderous palpitation to a softer _thrumb_ in her ears at the familiar sight of her old bedroom. Though her panic was subsiding slightly her confusion was no less intense as she tried to gather her bearings. The task was made harder by the sudden jolt of pain that pierced her head, an intense sting unlike any headache she'd experienced before. It was accompanied by a loud ringing in her ears that left her cradling her head in agony with a sharp inhale of air through gritted teeth. Her room was exactly as she had left it. _But why am I here?_ she pondered, _Last thing I remember, I was-_. she glanced up at the sound of the door opening and a tray and bowl crashing to the floor.

"Ruby! You're awake!" the jubilance in the voice of the blonde haired man standing in the doorway was the first ounce of true excitement and joy she'd heard since the attack on Beacon had begun. Taiyang Xiao Long was in his usual attire as he crossed the room in two long strides to embrace his little girl with wet eyes, "You're back! You're safe!" he assured as he hugged her close. Ruby let out a startle cry but after a moment she rallied and returned the embrace with gusto.

"D-dad, what's going on?" she asked after they finally released one another,

Tai held her at arm's length and looked her up and down, "First thing's first, are you okay? Are you in any pain?"

"Well," she groaned as she gingerly messaged her temples, "My head is f-fuzzy and I ache all over but I think I'm okay."

Tai sighed, "Oh thank God!"

"What happened to the City, to the school?" Ruby questioned.

"Just calm down, Little Rose, everything is going to be fine." he assured while seated on the bed beside her with a hand on her shoulder, "The Huntsmen and Huntresses have cleared the city and Beacon is quarantined. The tower was damaged but it still stands, thanks largely to you!"

"I don't… what do you, what did I do?" Ruby held her head as a deep _throbbing_ echoed through her head. She tried to think back to the night before and found the events playing through her mind like a horror movie she couldn't escape. She saw the dragon attack, remembered how a griffin had taken Torchwick from the top of the Airship, replayed the screams of the city in her mind, and finally recalled the call from Juane. She closed her eyes tight as she replayed sprinting up the tower as fast as her semblance would take her and finally felt the _throb_ build to a crescendo as she re-lived the scene she had seen at the top of the tower, heard the bow snap, and saw the world turn white. Ruby gasp in shallow short breaths as the memory subsided, "First Penny, then I was-Cinder she- O God! **Pyrrha** , what happened to Pyrrha!?" she pleaded but her father could give no reply, nor meet her gaze.

Tai shifted to the bed and held the young girl closer as the tears began to build to a flow, streaming down her face as she sobbed in heaving breaths into her father's shoulder. There was nothing more for Tai to add, not at that moment, nothing that would ease the pain for his Little Rose and it tore him apart. Ruby would simply cry for the first time in years. And Tai would simply be there for her to cry on now as he had back then. After all; what more could he do?

The cracked door to the hall revealed the he was not the only one. Qrow stepped back to rest his weight against the wall behind him as he looked at his niece, crying full stop for the first time in years. He hadn't seen her shed a true tear at anything since that black day her mother died and yet here was that dark scene before his eyes again. His bones creaked against the strain of his tightly clenched fist as he felt warmth on the tips of his curled fingers and a stinging in his palm; followed shortly thereafter by the slow creep of blood seeping through his tightened fingers.

 _To the blackest hell with that bitch,_ Qrow thought as he grabbed his wrist to stop his fist from shaking in fury, _for what she did to those girls! To Amber! What she did to my kingdom!_ He bit his lip hard, _For making my niece cry like this again. For all of it. I'm gonna tear her apart!_ A single crimson drop fell from his hand to the floor, a stain on the wood to match the stain on their lives this had become.

Ruby fell asleep again through her tears as her tired body was unable to take the strain. After almost an hour Taiyang gently moved the sleeping girl off his lap where she had balled onto the pillows. Qrow entered the room at last, "She's a strong girl, Tai, she'll bounce back."

"She shouldn't have too." the scruffy blonde retorted as he stood and walked to the door, "It's almost lunch time, keep an eye on her for me." he quietly requested as he pushed past the rarely sober hunter. Qrow grabbed the chair and spun it about on one leg before saddling into it backwards, leaning on the back piece as he watched the young girl snooze.

"No, they shouldn't have too." Qrow looked down to his palm, examining the now dried smear of blood and the closing wounds on his calloused hands. Reaching into his back pocket Qrow pulled a grey handkerchief and wrapped it around his palm. Tightening his hand into a fist a few times Qrow felt the tinge of pain from the wounds reopening as the grey was spotted red. He clenched down hard and basked in the pain. He continued to look at his palm and with every thought of damage he'd seen or been responsible for in the battle he'd clench down to feel that sharp sting again. A small atonement and one that was entirely self-serving.

After a light snooze interspersed with soft sniffles and sobs Ruby finally opened her eyes again near half an hour later. Turning over in her bed she found the smiling unkempt and bearded face of her favorite drunkle. "Uncle Qrow." she forced a weak smile.

"Hey kiddo," he replied reaching out to pat her softly on the head, "You know you really did us proud out there."

Sitting up Ruby glanced around the room, "Where's dad?"

"Fixin' lunch, should be ready soon, you must be hungry?" _Grrrgrgrr!_ Ruby's stomach answered for her. "I figured, it'll be ready anytime now, just wait a minute."

Ruby nodded and let a slight genuine smirk shine through however her eyes were cast down at her lap where her hands fiddled uneasily. After several moments of silence she finally broke the quiet, "Uncle Qrow, what happened out there? Dad said I did something but, what?"

"What do you think?" he quizzed.

Ruby thought back, "Well. I know I got up to the top of the tower, and then," she took a _gulp_ of air at another wave of panic as the memories hit her but this time she held her ground against the scene, "I- uh. I got to the top of the tower and saw Cinder shoot Pyrrha. That big dragon Grimm was there too… I… I was so angry at them I- ugh!" as she remembered the fury she had felt her vision fell out of focus and her eyes burned for a brief moment, Qrow took a sharp inhale of breath as he saw his niece's eye flash brightly for a moment. Ruby grabbed her eyes with a gasp. "I don't remember what happened after that though."

 _Schreech_ Qrow pulled the chair up flush with her bed and took one of her hands in his, "Ruby… what was it Ozpin first said to you?"

Ruby thought back for a moment then contorted her face in confusion, "He said… 'Do you know who I am?'"

"No. before that."

"Hmmm. uh- something about my eyes?"

"Bingo, just like Summer."

Now more confused than ever Ruby could do little more than blink a few times, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Qrow leaned in and lowered his voice, "If I recall, you loved fairy-tales, right Kiddo?" she nodded, "Well, then this will knock your socks off; see, if you believe Oz, and you really ought to, some of those stories are true. One of them that we know to be true is a tale of a tribe of Silver Eyed warriors, really heros, kid." He sat up straighter and reach over, grabbing a picture of Summer Ruby had on the night stand, "See, these warriors were said to be so mighty they could paralyze Grimm with fear with just a look. Your mom was one of them, and now, so are you."

He handed the picture frame to her so she could look at her mother's face, "But, what's that got to do with Beacon?"

"Well that's harder to answer, can't say for sure exactly what happened but something up there triggered your powers, which lay dormant all this time. Whatever that was made a huge light spread all across the city from the top of the Tower. Every Grimm in town just stopped and stood stock still for a minute, and that's what allowed us to turn the tide. That huge Dragon flew off the moment that light cleared, taking that Witch with it apparently."

Ruby clutched the photo close to her chest, "But, how do you know I did that?"

He smiled widely with clear pride, "Cause, Kiddo, i've seen that light before. When we were training way back when our team got bogged down on a routine mission in our second year. We were surrounded on all sides. Tai took a Ursa claw to the chest, he was in bad shape, and Raven and I had depleted our Aura's as well. Summer was the only one left standing. I thought it was over until your mom charged the Grimm and the whole place lit up." he beamed at the memories that came flooding in.

 _Knock Knock_ "That's not the only time Summer pulled out butt out the fire." Tai chimed in as he entered carrying a green tray with a bowl of piping soup, "And I know she'd be beyond proud of you for carrying on her legacy." He added setting the tray across her lap with a kiss to her forehead. "Enough about all that, there will be time later. For now, eat, you need your strength."

Ruby wasn't sure if she could but tentatively placed the picture back on her bedside table and picked up the spoon, "Things are never going to be the same, are they?" she questioned flatly, knowing full well the answer.

Tai and Qrow exchanged silent glances, "Better eat up, it'll get cold soon." was his only reply. Ruby obliged.

Ruby's gentle _rasp_ at the door went unanswered. How long she stood there waiting she could not tell. Facing monsters and villains was one thing but this? This tested her courage to the breaking point. There was only one other time she could compare the feeling to; her first time facing a Grimm in battle on her own. She had been 12, wandering out into the woods to test out her newest configuration on Crescent Rose. Her father had told her not to go out but she was just so excited to see if the expanding blade worked right. She was practicing on a grove of trees when a Beowolf's growl made her heart skip a beat. Looking back on it now that Grimm was nothing. A runt probably kicked out of the pack it would barley be taller than her now but back then it was a monsterous and insurmountable foe. The door before her felt the same way now.

Taking a deep breath She gently reached for the knob and opened the door to her sister's room, "Yang?"

The golden haired wonder was lying in her bed, propped up on a mountain of pillows as she looked out her bedside window at the forest beyond. She did not turn, did not speak. She gave Ruby no indication that she had even heard her. The younger sibling stretched her neck and tightened her throat, preparing to call out again, pleading inwardly not be abandoned. She stopped just shy of voicing her thoughts. Resigned, Ruby turned to leave. Closing her eyes and steelign her own nerve the older girl replied softly, "Ruby…"

Ruby nearly fell to her knees as the relief washed over her. She catapulted herself across the room to embrace her older sister. The rush of relief was more than she could have asked for. Yang, while not reacting to stop her sister, did not return the hug with full force. She croaked through the tears that had begun to flow, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

While Ruby put her entire being into the gesture Yang barely moved at all. That's not to say she didn't feel the same rush of relief her sister had, nor that it had not been the most pleasant feeling she had experienced since the battle had begun, but the numbness masquerading as calm she was afflicted with dulled even this sweetest of moments. She barely grazed her sister's back with her arm before withdrawing. When Ruby's cry of jubilance came she could not contain the cold from seeping ever so slightly int other reply, "But I'm not."

Ruby stepped back at the almost icy reply and struggled to process it against all she knew of her sister. She knew Yang had been hurt, knew she had lost an arm! Still she had dared imagine that her sister might also have lost her fire. Trauma is a terribly fickle thing; and worst of all it's contagious.

"It's all gone;" Yang continued, pulling Ruby through the thoughts she had already wrestled with once herself, "The school, Penny," Yang's trademark was her strength but in all this she sounded fragile as glass, "Pyrrha," she was very near tears. "And…" AT first Ruby thought Yang would raise what remained of her arm but as the girl simply averted her eyes from her sister Ruby realized it was more than a single limb she was reverencing.

"Yang," Ruby was slow and methodical in her words, "where are Weiss and blake?"

Yang cast her gaze her her lap, her left hand resting in solitude there, "Weiss' father came at took her.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Ruby tried to put on a smile but it cracked and crumbled.

Yang 's eyes had always been full of fire; literally when she had her semblance going,and even the cool and haunting lilac they naturally were was like the burning base of a candle's flame. Now, though, They were like dull frozen lakes, She began to fill her sister in with no more tone or feeling than an off handed conversation at a coffee shop, "With the tower gone Vale can't communicate with the outside world. The last thing everyone saw was Grimm attack the city." Ruby had a general understanding of this from her talk with her Father and Uncle but hadn't yet given much thought to the consequences or how they could hit her personally, "Everyone thinks Atlas was behind it, so Weiss' father came and took her back to atlas where he thought it'd be safe.

That took a while to process. Ruby was confused not by the happenings, those were simple to understand, but by the intent behind them. Had Weis gone willingly? Had Anyone tried to stop her or her father? What about the other countries? Would this mean war? Taking a chapter from her combat training she pushed the questions aside and did what she was had learned; _attack the moment!_ "But what about-"

"And Blake **ran**!" Yang cut her off. Ruby's attack had been countered and she found herself mentally and physically retreating. Yang had been so forceful suddenly, so angry, that the ice in her Eyes had broken for a moment and the fire beneath had lashed out in harm. Ruby took several steps back from her Sister, whose breathing was becoming heavier and more sporadic.

"What does tha-"

Yang threw her hand up in dismissal, "Sun saw her! After we got back to the city. She just…" THe rollercoaster had come full circle as the fire was extinguished with pooling wet tears. Yang's voice cracked, "Ran!"

A lull in the conversation gave Ruby time to pull herself together. She could see the damage that this was doing but had very little hope of stopping it. Deciding it was better to rip off the bandage she pressforward, "But why?"

"I don't know!" a clearly annoyed Yang replied, "and I don't care." the second line was almost a shameful admission as the older girl choked on the words and averted eye contact.

"There has to be a reason why she-"

" **No!** There doesn't." Yang had become openly hostile and blunt with squared shoulders and her back to her sister aws she gazed back out the window, seemingly exasperated by Ruby's naivete, "Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby."

There was very little else to say. Ruby had hoped to gather strength from her mountain of a sister even though the moment she had laid eyes on her had told her that mountain had crumbled. Instead she had tried to build her back up with what little strength she herself had. It was only now, with her sister's back coldly to her, that she realized that yet again she wasn't strong enough.

Near quivering and with another step toward the door Ruby dared to press forward, "So what do we do now?

Yang whispered in a near scoffing tone, "We…?" If she had kept that same bitterness Ruby might have given up entirely. However, at the last moment, something made the cold numbness in her heart abate, if only for a second, and she strained to return even the slightest bit of warmth to her voice, "You can do whatever you want. I-" that tiniest bit of care took all she had, "I'm just going to lie here."

Ruby backed away to the door, careful not to make a sound, "Okay… I love you."

With that tiniest gesture, a hand reaching out to her beloved sister, Ruby retreated and fled down the hallway to her own room. Yang felt the brush of other words, and held them close to herself as she watched the red leaves fall to the forest floor.

A drop of blood rolled from his chin and fell into the moldering air of dawn before splattering against the ground. The drop came from a streak of red that started just above a golden eyebrow and trickled slowly down the side of a young yet masculine face. He was breathing heavily and the brisk morning air showed mist at his gasps.

"Come on, Jaune, this is enough. Let's call it a morning." a sturdy voice urged from the side of the kneeling Jaune Arc. Cardin Winchester cast a large shadow though even he was bent and propped on his mace's hilt. "You're aura's hit or miss," he took a deep breath in, "and even I get tired of wailing on ya." he breathed out as he tried to stand tall and look tough but nearly stumbled as he slung his mace across his shoulder. Though Cardin would be loath to admit it Jaune wasn't a pushover he could spar with without using real effort, not anymore.

"No," Jaune wheezed as he wiped the blood from his brow once again, leaving a red trail on his white gauntlets. He'd been absolute in his morning training regime that Pyrrha had created for him, though with the dormitories in ruin and the Campus overrun the usual rooftop was replaced with one of the cities open parks. Over the past few days the opponents had changed; Velvet, Neptune, and now Cardin. He had hoped that this latest opponent would have the stomach to keep going when the others had walked away. That was looking less likely now. "We're not done yet." he spat resolutely as he struggled to his feet and closed his eye. Reaching deep inside himself he conjured an image, conjured a voice, conjured the feeling of hands and hair and, at last, of lips. Breathing in deeply he felt a heat on his brow as a light enveloped his body once again and the wound sealed such. "By your shoulder…" he breathed out quietly to himself as he took his stance and readied his blade. "Now! **Come on**!"

Cardin groaned in frustration. Here he was wanting to call it a day because he was tired when this nut job who had just lost his friend or maybe even lover was willing to go until he dropped. A more sane person, someone who was actually Jaune's friend, would have tried to talk him off this ledge. _A friend I might not be, but if he keeps this up I'll actually have to start respecting him_ Cardinal thought. "Alright. But you asked for it!" he roared as he advanced with mace high at the ready. He brought it down as Jaune brought his shield to bear.

The steel rang out through the woods on the south end of Beacon's campus. "Those two have been at it since sun up. This can't be healthy." A young woman with long brown hair and even longer rabbit ears tucked low close to her head commented. She sat on the top of a hill overlooking the wooded training field, her elbows on her knees as she cradled her chin.

"I know, I know! 'It's how he's dealing with this pain. We shouldn't judge, Velvet.'" standing beside her was a tall, dark skinned man, with burnt orange hair and an even more fiery orange outfit although he never actually spoke a word and just looked at the girl who spoke for him in a forcibly deepened voice, "'and we shouldn't try to stop him.'" The stoic youth maintained his silent vigil but did nod slightly in agreeance with her assessment of his feelings. He wasn't going to make any move to stop the ensuing duel below.

"But he's not dealing with it." Velvet retorted sharply looking up at the man before sinking lower into herself and resting her chin directly on her knees, "I can't imagine what this must be like for him. I don't want to."

"Are those two still at it?" a smooth voice cut in from the back of the hill. Stepping up to the crest of the hill upon which the others lighted was a woman who embodied the term fashionista. Her hair had that perfect messy to bun ratio and no one could say her outfit didn't go together with it's dark caramels and chocolate tones. Hell even the sling in which her right arm rested was flawlessly fit to be part of the ensemble. The only part of her look that showed the signs of the battle were the bandages around her arm and cheek. That and her cracked sunglasses that still adorned her well kept face. "Sheesh, that's gotta hurt." Jaune was once again knocked to the ground, "He's really not getting any better."

"Coco." Velvett turned to her leader with pleading eyes but all she received was a sympathetic smile and a gentle hand placed atop her head, the thumb stroking the base of one of her ears. Velvet, reluctantly, gave up and returned to simply watching the two boys train. Coco, for her part, crouched behind her friend and began a puppet show with the faunus' ears, something she alone was allowed to do.

Jaune took the brunt of another blow from the large boy's mace but this time his foot caught as it should and he was able to counter, striking Cardinal across the face with a swift left jab of his shield, a move Coco cheered lightly. "Take that! That's what you get for bullying Velvet earlier this year! If she hadn't told us to lay off I woulda_" she stopped as steps behind her took away the attention of the sparring match. A white bloused woman was approaching, Glenda Goodwitch looked no worse for wear but her eyes were sunken and heavy with a great deal of lost sleep and of inner pain. The younger students didn't know but Team CFVY was well aware of the close ties Goodwitch and Ozpin had. It was palpable.

"Mr. Daichi," she directed to the large young man in green armor standing beside his team, "Would you please go tell those two to knock it off? Physically, if need be." The man nodded and begin skidding his way down the hillside.

"What's up Prof?" Coco inquired, keeping the veneer of normality with her laid back tone.

Goodwitch wasn't looking at her, or the fight, but instead at the tower in the distance, "It'll be time for the memorial before long, you all need to get ready." Coco fixed her cracked glasses and shifted her weight as she let Velvet's ears droop. Below Jaune was arguing with the large Yatsu while Cardin stepped back to rest on a stump and though the others on the hill couldn't hear what was being discussed they could see Jane's shoulders finally fall as he conceded. Satisfied that her message had been received the elegant blonde turned from the scene and headed back the winding path. She didn't hear Velvet comment in the damp morning air, "She's not dealing with it either."

The battle had been hard Fought. The Grimm were one problem but the Atlas units going berserk had caused widespread destruction and panic. It was a miracle that the school and city still stood. Now, a week later, fires still smoldered here and there but the last of the Grimm had been forced out save for the huge number of specimens gathered near the southern forest edge. Huntsmen were working overtime to ensure that the defenses held as they pushed the last vestiges of the assault from the city. The tower had been severely damaged by the conflict, rendering outside communication impossible.

However the city still held its own inner network and power grid and while they were unable to send any data the city still received word from outside. Like a shell shocked soldier the entirety of Vale could hear the world around them but could not speak to it.

This made the situation all the more frustrating for Qrow, seated in the living room of his family's home cradling a black cane with a silver handle on his lap as he watched the reports roll in. He couldn't help but think that the had world spun rapidly out of control in the exact way he felt the enemy had wanted. The news from most countries played as if the Atlesian military had orchestrated the attack, with broken images and half gathered testimonies that painted the picture of an assault in the middle of a celebration of peace. The other nations had begun to posture already, gathering their forces and making their borders more terse, Haven had gone so far as to expel the Atlesian Ambassador.

Of course the negative sentiment in the air lead to a sharp increase in Grimm activity the world over. "She got everything she wanted with one move, Oz, how the hell could we have missed **all** this?" Qrow voiced to the void as he grasp the cane in his hand tighter.

Down the hall a soft knock rippled through the door to one of the bedrooms followed by a soft voice flittered in the air, "Yang?" After a moment of no response Ruby opened the door to her Sister's bedroom, "Yang? Are you awake?"

Lying beneath a light blue cover, her long blonde hair sprawled about her was one Yang Xiao Long, still gazing with melancholy out the window beside her while stroking the bandages on her now missing right arm, "Yeah, Ruby, I'm awake." she replied, trying to keep her tone soft and gentle but the timber held an unmistakable brittleness. She was one of the strongest people Ruby knew but at this moment she seemed as fragile and cold as ice thin as paper. Chancing a look over at her sister Yang forced a smile, "You look nice, did Dad do your hair?"

Ruby was dressed in a more formal black blouse with slacks and a long jacket with silver clasps. Her hair was pulled back behind two red pins on one side showing more of her smooth face and the back rolled up and pinned in a small tail. "Oh, yeah, he did. He's gotten better at styling."

"He's had some practice this past week, it's hard for me to brush my hair myself right now, ya know?" Yang sang with a smile but Ruby saw through it.

"Yeah, he's been really great." she agreed before looking about the room in an awkward moment of silence. Spying the black dress and shawl she'd help pick out the day before still hanging on the closet door Ruby swallowed and got back to business, "Are you going to get ready? The funeral is starting soon, we need to get going."

"Ruby, I-." Yang stopped short and took a deep breath, "I don't think I'm going, I just… I don't feel up to it."

Ruby tightened her lips to force a shallow smile, "Oh? o-okay then. Yeah, sure, that's fine. I, uh, I understand."she assured to Yang who had returned her gaze to the misty window .

"I'm sorry, Rubes." Yang added, quietly.

"It's fine… really." Ruby rocked on her heels for a moment, "But, uh, are you really sure. 'cause we've got a -"

" **I said I'm not going**!" Yang snapped, making her little sister jump.

Ruby opened her mouth to apologise but closed it shortly after and slunk from the room closing the door gently behind her. Once on the other side she shrunk against the barrier, leaning against the door for support as her knees failed her and she dropped to squat against it, stifling a sob by covering her mouth and blinking furiously against the tears.

She had feared that response. One; because it showed how far Yang had fallen and two; because it meant she'd have to bury their friends alone. She thought back to how Yang had told her of Weiss and Blake. Now she felt the crushing solitude she'd felt then and it was all she could do to simply hold back the tears. From the end of the hall Tai watched with gritted teeth, knowing there was nothing he could do at that moment to help.

After a few moments Ruby huffed, stifled her tears, and stood wiping her face. She'd decided before going to see Yang that not attending the memorial wasn't an option. Pyrrha had been there for all of them on several occasions and she would not leave JNPR alone to bury their friend. Her eyes and face were still puffed and had been since she awoke a week before but her face wore a determined glare as she looked to her Father who smiled broadly and motioned for her to come along. Together with Qrow they would head for the hill below Beacon Tower. The Grimm were sporadic in that area still, however the Huntresses had pushed them back to the far side of campus. And even then with so many Hunters in attendance at the Memorial only the truly foolish Grimm would dare show itself. Ruby almost hoped there would be a few beowulf's on the way, she felt she could use the distraction.

The dew clung to the stalks of grass now slicked flat beneath the trampling of feet. A few hundred had gathered on this cloudy and chilly morning at the large obsidian obelisk on the western wing of Beacon's Courtyard. Monument to all who had died in service of Vale; Huntsman, Huntress, City Guard, it did not matter. All who fought were engraved upon this stone. The Obelisk had been but a mere 5 feet tall when it was first erected several decades before but since then had been raised to its current height of over 20 feet tall. The statue had grown steadily in the years.

Arrayed before the onyx stone was the remaining students of Beacon academy as well as a good number of professional alumni and friends of the school, those that could put their grieve and worry aside for a moment at least. For every face preset, however, there was another who was not. The mass of students made the right hand column, veterans flanking to the left as the classes arranged themselves in near military lines. Each student held a single flower in hand, though they were all of different colors.

Ruby looked over at her classmates, having opted to stand by her Father and Uncle instead of join the other students, checking with reluctance to see who was missing and ho was present. Team CRDL was there and looked tense. Behind them stood CFVY, no doubt the source of the latter's apprehension. Yatsuhashi, despite Velvet's appeals for restraint, had made sure the boys knew exactly what he thought of their behavior. IRON and ORNG stood beside them, though ORNG was missing one member and all the others seemed to be actively crying. Team SKIY was missing entirely, though being one of the most senior teams they may have been on patrol. There was no if and or buts about the two teams up front, however; the vanguard of the students was taken by the two remaining members of EMLD, a third year team who had taken to the breach in the fighting and had sacrificed two lives to save thousands.

And finally Ruby rested her gaze on the members of JNPR still standing and her heart nearly shattered. Jaune was still bruised and battered, Ren remained stoic but she could swear his shoulders sagged, and Nora wa sporting the first melancholy look Ruby had ever seen her have. Ruby became all too suddenly aware that she'd been holding her breath since she dared glance at the other line. Trying to slowly take in more air she was struck by how silent the courtyard was and how loudly that quiet blared in her mind. It was suffocating.

 _Klack, Klack, Klack._ the sound of sharp heels echoing on pavement rang through the deafening silence. Glynda Goodwitch strode through the center of the two groups to a wooden podium placed at the center of the monument. She wore a rather stunning dress, full length and flowing with a neck and and shoulders far more feminine than Ruby had expected her to have. It was a shame such pretty shoulders were weighed so heavily with the mass of the kingdom. Taking a deep breath Goodwitch looked to those before her and began her speech.

"We are Huntsmen." she began, the strong and confident Glynda showing herself again, as though that weight would be nothing to her now, "We fight to protect; that is our way, and we each choose it for ourselves... We fight for honor; that is our way, and we revel in the memories we build... We fight for peace; that is our way, because when the hordes gather and raise their howls we raise back stronger calls of our own... We fight for one another; that is our way, because when we stand back to back and side by side no Grimm can stand against us! No evil can break us! And no malevolence can overtake us!... We fight for humanity; **because** **we** **are** **Huntsmen**."

The crowd joined her in the final line, a silly tradition to some but it always seemed meaningful at times like these. Taking a moment after her voice had risen to its peak she gave everyone in attendance a solemn glance and a hollow smile, "Ozpin would say, 'Time has a way of testing our bonds.' and times like these certainly have. But we have not been found wanting." The smile was empty but the pride in her eyes was real, she meant every word. "We take this moment to affirm those bonds, for while we die we do not die in vain. Vale still stands, the people still live," she steeled herself, "and we will remember those who gave their all to this world."

Placing her hand on the podium and pouring aura through it seams of silver light streamed down the channels in front of the podium and flowed to beneath the Monolith. A large Silver glyph formed beneath the stone base and slowly the Obsidian spire began to rise. Beneath the last line of names at the base a new line of engraved names and symbols began to form. As the stone rose all those attending placed their fist to their chest and bowed their head in respect. After several moments the sprie came to a stop and all eyes scanned the base.

More than a hundred names had been added. Scanning the rock Ruby's eyes caught on a spear piercing a shield and her heart sank at the name next to it; Pyrrha Nikos. She heard those behind her take in a sharp breath that resounded around the crowd. " **Look**! At the bottom!" came a stifled gasp from behind her.

Looking down the names and symbols, some of which she recognized, to a single name on a solitary row at the bottom Ruby startled as well; Headmaster - Ozpin. Eyes darted about. Everyone had heard the rumors, heard that Professor Ozpin had been missing, but this was probably the first confirmation for many of them.

Glynda cleared her throat, "Yes, it is true. Professor Ozpin also perished in the battle. This is a fate all Huntsmen and Huntresses risk and Ozpin was no exception." she took a deep breath to convince herself before speaking again, "I won't lie, this news hurts. But we are huntsmen, we must overcome because if we do not then all of Vale, all of the world, is doomed. We cannot allow that to happen. For the people we have behind us, and for those who gave their all before us." she leaned to the front of the podium, "Are you with me?" In unison the offered the same fist to chest salute they had given their departed brethren.

After the main memorial the crowd broke up into smaller groups that headed to the field of tombstones surrounding the monolith. A number of caskets dotted the landscape ready to be lowered into the ground. Goodwitch retained her posture, shoulders squared and chin high, perhaps having gained too much experience in these things but more likely simply maintaining the strength she and the older Hunters knew they all needed to have. Qrow and Taiyang gathered beside her with Professor's Port and Oobleck along with several other professionals and teachers so Ruby took the opportunity to join JNPR out in the cemetery.

Jaune wasn't particularly interested in the speech or the memorial service, or anything for that matter. The only thing he had been able to find to keep his mind off Pyrrha was getting stronger and now being forced to stand in line and remember all the pain had him restless. Not that he's been restful lately as the memories of Pyrrha kept him from having any peace, and that how he wanted it. He wanted to remember everything; her talent for combat and teaching, her kindness and innocence, he'd never be able to forget the way she'd yell "sorry" for even the smallest thing, and he knew it was better that way.

If Ren and Nora were doing any better it was only marginally so. Jaune had heard the two of them talking night after night, knew that Nora was quietly crying alot, something he'd never seen her do, and it was only Ren's semblance that allowed her to get any rest; a trick Ren had offered him but he had flatly, and perhaps rudely, denied. Team JNPR was damaged and being at the service and seeing the other teams of Huntsmen had only worsened that fact. He couldn't bring himself to look at the broken remains of team EMLD for fear that he'd actually feel thankful that they had lost two instead of him.

"Let's go, it's time." softly he broke the team off from the others and they headed into the cemetery to stand before a grave with a casket suspended over the whole by pulleys. The stone was inscribed with the circle and spear symbol and the name 'Pyrrha Nikos'. He heard small voices crying nearby and realized abruptly that there were children present as well, youths whose parents had gone to fight and not wouldn't come home. Parents grieved amongst the crowd as well, and the thought of how Pyrrha's family would soon be getting a most unwelcome message nearly knocked him off his feet. The only thing that kept him standing was his awareness of what had to be done next, and no small amount of fury and lust for revenge.

Jaune never considered himself a vengeful person until now, but with every thought of Pyrrha's smiling face he couldn't push the image of Cinder from his mind. His knuckles made a _pop_ as he clenched his hands wanting to grasp that woman's throat and drain the lifer from her. "Jaune?" he heard Pyrrha's voice in his head, soft and sweet as it had always been, "Jaune?" his breath caught as the voice grew louder in his ears, "Jaune!"

Snapping back to the moment he looked to Nora who had her hand on his fist trying to pry it open, "Your hand!" she insisted. Turning his hand around he sw how white knuckled he'd become, his flower lay snapped in two on the ground.

"We should say our goodbyes, we'll have to leave in a few days." Ren reasoned as he bent and picked the flower up to hand the remaining bud back to Jaune. The blonde gave his friend a quizzical glance.

"What do you mean?" Jaune feigned ignorance as he plotted a private withdrawal.

Nora grabbed the base of his Jacket and tucked at it looking down, "Don't even think about it."

"You're not about to go after Cinder alone, the two of us are going with you." Ren assured.

"Three of us!" chimed in another high voice before Jaune could offer a rebuttal. Ruby had joined them at the grave side. "You're not alone in this. None of us are." she stepped up to him and took his other hand in hers, "That's what Professor Goodwitch meant by her speech, that we are all in this fight together. Ozpin, Pyrrha, Penny they all believed in this fight. We have to see it to the end."

Jaune stifled his objection, as he had no ground to stand on, and instead nodded gratefully, "Thanks guys." he stepped up to the casket. "I'm sorry, Pyrrha. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I-I'm sorry I didn't figure it out sooner." He placed the remains of his flower on the top of the pine coffin "I just… I'm so sorry." tears were shed all around a the other three placed their flowers. Nora had trouble letting go of hers, she had trouble letting go of such a close friend. Ren hummed a song his parents had taught him. Ruby was preparing to turn the winch after the others had said their goodbyes when she noticed more approaching.

Team CFVY came by with Velvet leading the group as she had been closer to the first years than her comrades. Next came a surprise in the form of team CRDL, a group none expected to stop by to pay their respects, Dove gave Cardin a shove forward to be the first to place a flower. Several professors and others gathered as well. By the end there was a mountain of flowers covering Pyrrha's coffin, spilling over the sides. As Ruby cranked the winch to lower Pyrrha into the ground not a dry eye remained yet smiles could be seen from her closest friends at the number of lives she had touched.

The others would leave slowly, many with a kind word to the remainders of JNPR, until at last even Ren and Nora left to visit the mourners for Ozpin by the Obelisk leaving Ruby and Jaune at Pyrrha's side. An uncomfortable silence rose up between them.

"S-so uh"

"Rub-" both tried to break the silence at the same time. they chuckled a legitimate laugh for the first time in a long time and Ruby motioned for Jaune to go ahead. "Ruby, thanks for coming."

"Ah, it's no big. It's what we do, you know!"

"Yeah." He paused at looked to the grave, "She kissed me. Right before she went off to fight. If I'd gone with her maybe..."

Ruby was shocked at the admission of their kiss. She'd known Pyrrha's feelings, of course they all had, yet she never would have guessed she'd have acted on them. _What exactly am I supposed to say to that?_ she was brought out of her musings as he began to blame himself,"Jaune, you can't-"

"How much pain did I put her through? Just prancing about pining after Weiss while she; she only ever wanted to help others, and when she needed me the most I **wasn't** there!" he slammed his fist against his leg.

Ruby wanted to tell him no, but truth be told she felt the same way. How many times had she thought, _If I'd only been faster, why wasn't I fast enough?!_ But she knew that it would eat him away as it had her. Mustering her voice she squeaked, "Jaune, I-"

"Ms. Rose. Mr. Arc."

"Professor Goodwitch?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt. Would the two of you accompany me for a while?" she asked with a sharp look, "Please."


	3. Pretty Lies, Ugly Truths

Chapter 2:

Pretty Lies  
Ugly Truths

Storms were an ever present feature of the cursed landscape outside the tall windows so much so that rather than disturbing their present was almost comforting at least when compared to the other common scene; Grimm of all shapes and sizes pouring from the multitude of black puddles that infested the land. Emerald still wasn't accustomed to it. The vermillion halls of crystal she now stood in could be called a hell of its own for those residing in it. In the glass she could see the reflections of seven high backed chairs arrayed around a crystal table and seated in them were terrors every bit as frightening as the Grimm below. No, far more so.

Emerald was not an easily frightened person. She'd lived a rough life on the streets, and she'd killed a lot of people in that time, but these three seated at the table behind her made her skin crawl. One was a simple matter to figure out; a psychopathic zealot who was a volatile and violent as a caged animal. To be honest, however, he was the least scary. The other two made her far more weary. The old scientist made her feel like a lab rat and the old warrior gave off a cloak of seething danger that make her fingers twitch. A glance to her side at Mercury told her that the young assassin felt exactly the same. Even having returned in victory these three still gave them looks of disdain that she would have returned wholeheartedly if she wasn't at least slightly afraid of them.

However even then they only scared her in her because she understood how dangerous they were. She understood their skills, their history, and that each of them was someone she would never wish to face. Still they were at least human and she could understand them. The woman who had yet to enter the chamber, on the other had, terrified Emerald in a way she never knew she could be. After all the this woman wasn't someone that Emerald could understand and that would leave anyone trembling.

Cinder had told them about her about some dark mistress, but she had never imagined or planned on meeting the woman. The room felt like a court and the judge, jury, and executioner were due to arrive. They'd completed all of their objectives, and she had assured herself there was nothing to worry about, but she was still anxious. She once again ran down the talking points should she have to go over, aware that she was Cinder's mouth piece for the time being.

Over fifty Huntsmen and Huntresses had lost their lives in the defense of the city, and hundreds more civilians had perished in the assault, yet Vale was not alone. Atlas had lost dozens of VTOL transports and even four combat airships with most of the crew missing or dead. Across Remnant the fear and doubt of seeing the Battle of Vale begin and then having the signal cut off with no outside reports made had lead to Grimm attacks the world over. Surely there was not a city or village that was unaffected. Their plan had been flawless. Flawless. Surely there was no reason to fear reprisal.

Emerald grasp her hands tightly together to stop their trembling.

-vvvvv-

Goodwitch was silent as she lead the way toward Beacon Tower. It was hard to grasp whether she was being cagey or just maintaining her usual dry demeanor. The entire situation unnerved both Ruby and Jaune. Rarely had the Professor lead them like this and the end result been good. Yet what kind of scolding could they be getting? Surely she wasn't blaming them for the attack; though perhaps they felt that to be the truth. Ruby knew her team had failed to see the whole board in the first act and Jaune laid Pyrrha's death squarely on his own shoulders. On second thought, a major scolding was the one thing they felt they deserved that they had yet to receive.

Beacon tower was far worse for wear than Ruby recalled with obvious damage to the structure visible from far away. Getting closer the damage was all the more extensive. Grand gashes were wrapped around the structure at intervals near the top. No doubt the claw marks of that giant Grimm Dragon that had latched onto the structure. The once elegantly peaked top was gone, completely blown off at the Clock face that had served at the Headmaster's office for years. The grounds were in tatters with large slabs of stone missing or thrown from the walkways and the numerous pillars and arches of the courtyard fallen or split. Glass glittered in the remains of the grass as not a single window remained on the original structure. Rather the glass scattered out away from the tower seeming to have been blasted out in a wide range with great force. A single line of broken siding ran from the base to the top of the tower, and made Ruby blush slightly realizing that was probably her own handiwork. It was a sorry sight. "I knew the battle had been bad, but this…" Ruby commented.

"The Tower is still receiving and the backup systems are allowing communication within Vale, for now, however we can't get a signal out." Glynda explained a they approached the main entrance, "Which is the primary problem. We can see how our battle has affected the world and it isn't good. Most of the outside world thinks that Atlas staged an attack on the city, which they have denied. As have we, by the way, but getting the word out isn't easy." she sighed deeply, "It's caused the other nations to take up defensive measures and some groups are calling out for a full scale war. To be honest I'm not sure what the other councils will do, and our own Council can't even agree on where to meet right now so they're not any better."

As they entered the building Qrow was waiting for them in a main atrium, or what was left of it, "Those morons were never much help to begin with." he commented as he took a deep swill from his flask.

"James- uh, I mean- General Ironwood sent us a specialist he could spare to help get the tower back up and running, hopefully. Once that is done we can get to calming the public's fears. If we can't then…"

"The Grimm." Jaune completed her thought for her.

Goodwitch nodded, "This climate of fear has to be stopped or the Grimm will only get worse."

"You kids might think you know how bad the Grimm can be, but trust us, you haven't seen anything. We'd built a safer world since the great war and believe it or not that peace was our greatest weapon against the creatures of Grimm, but with all this negativity things that have long been asleep are sure to start rearing their ugly heads. That Dragon was just the start." Qrow warned, "We need to be ready."

An uncomfortable silence fell on the group as they stood in the middle of the atrium, broken only when Ruby looked to Glynda with a sudden hopeful thought, "Who's here?" she inquired.

"Pardon?"

"Who did the General send? You said a specialist was-"

Qrow cut her off, "Sorry, Kiddo, it's not who you're hoping for. After Weiss was collected Winter headed south, supposedly to try and keep Haven from imploding."

"Haven? But that's where Cinder and her team were from." Jaune growled.

"Yeah, we've already sent a messenger of our own, Lionheart isn't exactly on my friends list but I don't think he's a traitor. Evidence suggests that Cinder's gang were just plants who snuck in to trick us."

"How can you be so sure!?"

Qrow raised an eyebrow at Jaune's tone, "Well, Kid, for one thing I've been at this for a while longer than you have." he fired back to which Jaune's shoulders fell slightly, "For another we can assume that Cinder was with the Dragon which fled to the west, the opposite of Haven, and after Ruby gave it a new hole to drink with I don't think we'll be seeing that Grimm for awhile."

"Nor are we likely to see Cinder or her cohorts, for that matter." Goodwitch added, "Now."

"Ahem!" an exaggerated growl of a throat clearing took their attention away, "And where, exactly, do you think you're going?" Turning about they saw Ren and Nora, the latter of whom was looking rather disgruntled, "First you run off and sulk all by yourself, then you start training with Cardin! Really? Cardin? And now you ditch us for old people!?" she exclaimed as she marched across the room to get in Jaune's face.

"Hey, who're you calling old?" Qrow replied indignantly.

Glynda began to retort, "Ms. Valkyrie, Mr. Ren, I'm sorry but this is a sensitive and priva-"

"No, it's not." Jaune assured, "Whatever it is you wanted to see me about you can see my Team about, Professor. If not then it's not something I need to know."

"Mr. Arc, while I appreciate your position- this is- well, you see it's." Goodwitch, for once, was flustered.

"Let it go, Glynda."

"Qrow, Ozpin might have trusted your instincts but these are not your students, you don't know them or what they need."

"True, other than my niece, but I know Huntsmen and these kids are just that. You really think telling just these two will keep it quiet? The second you fill them in they were going to let their teammates know. And that's how it should be." Glynda opened her mouth to retort but closed it after a moment, "Look, Ozpin set up the rules to keep things on a need to know basis, and these kids need to know."

Several tense moments passed before the Professor finally relented, "Fine." she said with a sigh as she stepped across the room to the side of the elevator and waved her crop at the wall. A section of the wall pulled forward and swung open, revealing a hidden set of stairs, "Sorry to say but the Elevator is still broken, so we'll have to go the long way. Come along." Stepping into the stairwell she began to descend. After exchanging glances the teens followed suit. Qrow took up the rear.

The stairs were an industrial set of concrete steps and landings running parallel to the Elevator. After passing six doors at regular intervals on their way down they descended a section which consisted of several landings yet no exit. Several floors could fit in such a space. When finally they did come to the seventh door Glynda gave a wave of her riding crop before a metallic click came from the handle and the sound of stone on stone emanated from the other side. Glynda reach out to the knob but paused before looking back at the others, "From this point onward there is no going back." She paused as if somehow expecting any of them to express a desire to retreat. When no such voice was raised she turned the knob and opened the door.

The room beyond was several stories high, accounting for the stairs, and cavernous in its expanse. It was also very familiar to Jaune, even with the large gashes carved into the concrete and scorch marks about the room. At the end of the long hall was a device of cold steel made up of various tubes and machinery attached to two pods. The room was so long that they could not make out the contents of the glass on the machine, not that they were looking as the signs of battle had them transfixed on the middle of the room. "Wo!" Nora let out as her eyes traced the fighting area. Whoever had battle there had been ridiculously strong. "Oh...oh no."

Nora stood fixated on a spot on the roof of the chamber. Ruby followed her gaze with caution as it was seldom that Nora was so taken aback. She had to cover her mouth to prevent a similar response. The roof was stained black with soot, the intense flames that had burned the stone were powerful enough to pit it. At the center of the blackened ring was a very clearly defined grey, lesser burnt, concrete section in the form of a human being. "Wha-what happened here?" Ruby managed.

"This is where Ozpin fought Cinder," Qrow replied, "and where he died."

Ren spoke in a steady tone, "Is this what you brought us to see?"

Qrow shook his head and pointed to the machine, "No, what we brought you here for is that. It's an Atlas medical device," he shrugged, "Well, marvel is more like it. It's supposed to be capable of transferring aura between two people, but it was damaged by Cinder's attack. The system was fried."

"And that girl was killed." Jaune added.

"Yeah...Amber." Qrow grit his teeth.

Ruby looked between the two men, both trying to win at the sour faces contest, before voicing her question, "Who was Amber?"

"Amber was one of the Maidens. Fall to be precise, and was the woman I was supposed to protect."

"Oh… I'm sorry, uncle Qrow."

"It's not your fault, Kiddo." he looked to Jaune who couldn't meet his gaze, "Not yours either so don't even start that crap!" He snapped at the reserved youth, "I saw the security footage, Cinder would've carved through you like tin foil so don't get any delusions of grandeur… That red witch is the only one who carries blame for these attacks, got it." Qrow gestured to the machine again, "Still, Amber wasn't dead after Cinder's first attack and she needed Medical attention fast. So this thing also has some of Atlas' newest medical tech, seriously crazy stuff, and that part is still working fine."

Jaune's lip twitched as he looked the raven haired teacher in the eye, "So, what are these maidens?"

"Are you a fan of Legends, Mr. Arc?" Glynda asked.

"You mean that story for kids about the old wizard and the four maidens?"

"Good, so you do know it.

"Uh, duh, everybody knows that one."

"I don't!" Nora's hand shot up. Ren shook his head.

"Long ago there was an old wizard who lived by himself." Glynda continued, "Eventually the old man was found by four Maidens, each representing a season of the year. Together they brought the Wizard out of his induced seclusion and in gratitude he granted them unbelievable power. This is one of the many Legends that, according to Ospin, is true." She explained as they began to step forward. "That's the story, but in practice the Maidens are four women who are gifted with incredible power; able to use Magic without using Dust or anything else as a catalyst. They are also able to wield special treasures that the four academies were built to protect. As such it was Ozpin and his inner circle's chief duty to protect them. Yet Cinder got to Amber before we realized there was danger."

Qrow was stepping lighter than the others and after a few yards he stopped all together, "See when a Maiden dies her power is passed on to the last person she thinks about. Unfortunately this can easily be their attacker so they need to be protected even with their strength."

Ruby realized that Qrow had stopped moving with the group and looked back at him, "Uncle Qrow?" she questioned at his refusal to follow further.

"Look, that machine there is pretty sensitive and with my, uh, luck…. lets just say it's better if you go on without me." he turned about and head back for the stairs, "I'm going to check on the doc and see how the transmitter repair is coming along. Tell them everything we discussed, Glynda…" the older woman gave him an expectant glance with a raised brow, "Uh, Please?" She relented and they continued forward as Qrow turned back with a short stint of eye contact between the two scythe wielders.

As they neared the two pods the glass became less opaque and the beep of computer monitors and whirl of gears could be distinctly heard. Slowly becoming translucent as the glare washed away with their approach. The right side was still glossy but the glare only exemplified the flaws of the left pod. The glass played host to a spider of cracks all emanating from a single round breach in the canopy plugged still by the shattered shaft of an arrow, its flayed fletching casting a shadow upon the glass. Jaune's throat caught at the sight but he pulled his eyes away as Goodwitch lead them to the other container. If his throat had caught at the sight of the previous pod then it collapsed as he saw the glare recede from the other capsule.

"P-Pyrrha?" his voice grated against his tightening muscles.

Nora was not so reserved, stumbling forward at the sight and barely caught by Ren who slid to his knee to cradle the pink haired girl. Ruby looked to Goodwitch for an explanation. "When the dragon retreated from the Tower both James and Qrow rushed to the top. There they found Ms. Rose and Ms. Nikos. Both were unconscious." Jaune slowly stumbled forward to rest against the pod as Ren managed to get Nora to her feet to do the same. "Ms. Rose was in a stable condition, but Ms. Nikos was far worse. She was badly injured with multiple fractures and having lost a lot of blood and sustained various severe injuries. She'd also been shot twice; once through her ankle and the other, much more seriously through the chest."

"I remember now." Ruby exhaled as she too stepped close to the pod. Pyrrha was laying in a blue medical gown, her upper body visibly bandaged underneath it. her hair was unkempt and ragger, a far departure from her usually ordered appearance. Bandages wrapped her arms and legs in places with her left foot encapsulated in a cast. Her face was pale and had several pads placed here and there yet these were secondary to their primary focus. Her chest was slowly but rhythmically rising and falling. Ruby faced the Professor again, "When I reached the top of the tower Cinder was grasping Pyrrha by the face. I thought I was too late. I saw the arrow in her chest and thought she was dead."

"It would seem that Ms. Fall was not as precise as she would have hoped. Had she aimed a centimeter higher she would surely have stuck Ms. Nikos in the heart. but she didn't" Glynda stepped to the other side of the Pod here a table was covered with Pyrrha's gear and held up the breastplate. The gold trim was bent up by a hole in the leather just beneath the top edge of the armor. " The arrow pierced the armor easily but the material pushed the shot down, it just barely missed Ms. Nikos' heart, but it still applied pressure to her vena cava and caused her to black out. I'm willing to bet she was planning to finish the job just when you showed up." Goodwitch gave Ruby a genuine smile, as did Ren. Nora and Jaune were both still transfixed by their slumbering teammate.

"So she's going to recover? The black haired youth inquired.

Glynda became visibly more crestfallen, "Well… we don't know that for sure."

Jaune came too and rounded on the professor, "What do you mean, 'you don't know?'"

"Mr. Arc, her injuries were bad enough without the arrow, it's a wonder she survived at all." she retrieved a scroll from the table, "The arrow pierced through the body and embedded itself into her T8 vertebra. Further damage from blunt force trauma to the Lumbar and cervical regions of the spine. Right shoulder dislocated. Left femur fractured in six places. Left Achilles tendon severed." she stopped after seeing Nora's face dropping with every listed injury and sighed, "Our top doctor treated her wounds as best he could, but in the end she was fading fast. Even with her injuries treated her Aura was receding. Without any time to lose Qrow suggested we place her here, in the same type of capsule that had sustained Amber. This machine can charge a person's Aura with Dust. Amber was kept alive with this device when she was afflicted with a similar condition."

"So... is there nothing more we can do?" Nora squeaked out as tears ran down her face.

"I wouldn't say that."

-vvvvv-

The soft clink and sear of a pan and oil being put to heat was a comfortingly familiar sound to Yang even in this decidedly uncomfortable time. Not only emotionally but physically as well. The pain of the cut was something she could deal with, via gritted teeth or medication, but the pain in the tips of her fingers that were no longer there? That was going to be harder to deal with. So right now she'd take any comfort she could get. As she tossed the rice into the pan with the roughly, very very roughly, chopped vegetables into the skillet the scent wafting up certainly qualified as that comfort she sought. she cracked an egg into the rice and began to toss the pan. The front doorknob clicked as it turned.

"Yang? I'm home!" her father called as he came through the threshold. Immediately he scampered into the kitchen once smelling the stove going, "Yang!" he called with sudden urgency

The golden hair whipped about as she turned to face him, "What?" she asked with concern.

Tai stopped the moment he saw how she was calmly standing, realizing instantly his concern over her cooking would do nothing but piss her off. Thankfully at the moment she seemed more concerned with what he had to say than why he was saying it which gave him the precious seconds he needed to navigate these dangerous waters, "Uh… Y-You uh." he sniffed the air, "Smells like you forgot the onions."

Yang was dumbstruck for a moment until, exacerbated, she rolled her eyes and gave the pan another toss at the sound of the oil popping, "I didn't forget, its just I couldn't cut them right with only one hand so, yeah." her voice trailed off.

"You know stir fry won't taste right without it, "He chastised, trying to move the conversation along. He knew better than to press his little girl. Yang would come to him at her own pace, as she always had. Sniff sniff He tested the air again, "And no garlic!? Are you a mad woman?" he asked as he stepped up to the pantry to retrieve more ingredients.

"Don't tell me how to cook!"

"Don't cook wrong then."

"I was trying to be nice!"

"And nice doesn't make the rice, does it!"

"Ugh!" she wailed at his terrible joke, "You're such a Dad!" Neither could deny a small smile as Tai chopped the onion and garlic and slid it into the pan. they stood in silence for a few moments longer as the stir fry cooked up. "How was the service?" she finally asked.

Tai leaned against the counter on his forearms and ducked his head to his hands, "Well, it was a nice ceremony, I guess, but there were a lot of people who couldn't make it, things being how they are. Stil-"

"Sorry."

"Huh?"

She closed her eyes as she removed the pan from the stove and dumped the rice into a serving bowl. "I didn't go.. And you were right, I regret that now."

"Oh! No! I-I ugh, I didn't mean to imply-"

"It's okay. I know that too.

"Yeah," He took a deep breath and stepped back to the table to pull out two chairs, "Look, that monument's not going anywhere, we can visit it later."

Yang flashed a wry smile of appreciation for her Father's concern and sat as Tai prepared some tea. "So Ruby didn't come back with you?"

"No, she did, but the craziest thing happened; she just turned invisible."

"Dad!"

"She and some of your classmates are catching up, she'll be along I'm sure… if she doesn't smell how you ruined dinner."

"She ate your cooking all these years, didn't she?"

He sucked on his teeth knowing he'd lot that round, "Touché."

They drank their tea in relative quiet and awaited her return.

-vvvvv-

"So Pyrrha can recover?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"Perhaps," Goodwitch replied as she walked over to the other Pod and gingerly touched the arrow shaft, "But I won't lie to you, her injuries are extensive. If it were only a matter of her physical injuries she may have recovered already, or simply suffered paralysis."

"You're saying there are injuries beyond the physical to deal with?" Ren asked.

"That seems to be the case." she came back to their side, "Ms. Nikos' Aura is degrading. We aren't entirely sure why but the most likely cause is that she was partially connected to the power of Fall."

Jaune piped up, "I thought that Cinder had stopped the transfer?"

Glynda shrugged slightly, "Remember that this is all just educated guessing on our part," a solemn veil glazed her eyes, "With Ozpin gone we can't be sure of much." She shook the icy feeling from her face, "However the doctor thinks that this is the most likely cause."

"Who is this doctor?"

"He's the world's foremost authority on Aura," she paused, "And robotics… and mechanics… and, well, pretty much all Atlas tech." she looked to Ruby, "I believe you made friends with his crowning achievement."

"Penny?" Ruby whispered as she wracked her brain at all the incoming revelations, "So, Penny's father made this thing?"

"Yes, and it's an impressive device. It can transfer Aura from one person to another, although that function is currently inoperable, as well as allowing the use of dust to 'Charge' a person's Aura." she continued as she took out a large scroll pad and covered up a small demonstration which showed light being moved from one pod to the other. "According to him Ms. Nikos' Aura is being syphoned off at a steady rate. This has left her body extremely weak and unable to heal the injuries that she suffered."

Jaune stormed away, ending the impromptu lecture, and paced about in the corner in frustration.

-vvvvv-

Footsteps up the pavers brought Yang's attention around to the front door as she tried to gather what she would say. She had to be quick of Ruby would take all the blame and never let her get her apology in. The footsteps reached the wood porch and came to a stop at the door. Before the question of why she hadn't just come in could cross either Yang or Tai's mind a knock came from the other side. Tai got up to answer it as Yang moved into the doorway to see who had come to call. She almost took a stance when the first glimpse of the massive shadow in the doorway hit her however the pair of tall auburn ears that she noticed second relaxed her fears.

Tem CFVY was standing in the doorway, specifically Velvet who was backed up by the bulk that was Yatsuhashi, Fox and Coco followed behind as Tai invited them in. "Sorry to impose." Velvet offered as Yatsu ducked through the doorframe.

"It's fine, we were just talking."

"'Bout what? Blondie?" Coco asked as she walked past the others to Yang.

"Just, everything, you know." Yang shrank back against the wall and turned her severed limb away under Coco's admittedly rather harsh gaze.

Coco dropped her chin and let her sunglasses fall to the tip of her nose to intensify her stare for a moment before reaching up and pushing the frame back into place, "Okay then!" she snapped her fingers and Fox handed her a silver briefcase while Velvet moved past her and took Yang by the shoulder of her severed right arm.

"Hey! What the-" Velvet pulled Yang's dangling sleeve up to reveal the bandaged stump as Coco knelt and withdrew a steel contraption of several bars extending from a central ring and held it up to Yang's arm.

"Just wait a second, sweetie, this won't hurt." Coco explained as she held the device to the stump of Yang's arm and moved several of the bars to be just touching her bandages. "Hmm, Fox, you got your scroll ready?" she asked only to get a blank look and a raised eyebrow, "I'm joking… mostly.- Yatsu." The large man became an awaiting scribe.

Realization dawned on Yang's face though she still lowered her tone to a more demanding one before asking again, "What are you doing?"

"We were tasked with collecting your, uh, measurements." Yatsuhashi answered blushing slightly and looking away, which earned him a growing scowl from Tai.

"For what?"

"Obviously to get you back in the fight, Blondie." Coco replied as Velvet took a measuring tape to Yang's other arm and gave Yatsuhashi a new set of numbers.

Prosthetics, already? Yang thought inwardly while outwardly her articulated thought was less clear, "I-I'm, uh, not looking for a fight... again."

The others stopped as all eyes turned to her. After several seconds of uncomfortable silence Coco sighed and placed her hands on her hips, "Look, I get you got your ass handed to you, but the ship is sinking here and you've still got at least one good arm," she reached out at took Yang by her remaining wrist, "Grab a bucket." They struggled back and forth for a moment, Yang trying to wrench her arm from Coco's vice like grip while the older girl just held fast. When the blonde finally stopped pulling and simply looked away a gentle yet broad hand came to rest atop Coco's.

"Give her some time, alright." Tai interjected as Coco withdrew.

"We don't have a lot of that."

"I know." He assured her.

With a huff and a nod to her teammates CFVY withdrew. "We've got what we needed, the rest is up to you." A stern reminder that she couldn't stay idle forever was Coco's parting words to Yang before she and her team departed the Xiao Long residence.

Yang hadn't needed a reminder yet she received one all the same. The same guilt she had been trying to shrug off since electing to not go to the memorial service was washing over her again. It mixed with the anger at Blake for running, the hopelessness she felt when she looked at the news feeds, and the weakness she was assaulted with every time her own eyes fell on the severed remnants of her arm and her pride. Tai attempted to pull her into a comforting hug yet she pushed him away and retreated to her room. This left Tai to grapple with his own growing frustration with his failure to protect his children on his own.

There was a lot of that feeling going around;

-vvvvv-

"Th-this is a lot to take in." an overwhelmed Nora tried to catch her breath and leaned on Ren for support. Ruby felt equally unsteady and Jaune had actually stopped pacing to sit with his back against the wall and one arm draped across his upturned face to hide his emotions. Goodwitch had just finished giving them the rundown of the Professor's theory; The evidence pointed to Pyrrha's Aura having melded to that of Amber's just before her death, and Cinder having used unknown means to literally steal the power of Fall which had, at the time, already latched onto Pyrrha's very being. Cinder had stolen more than just power. She had stolen Pyrrha's life-force, and not with her arrow.

"But why have the deception?" Ren pondered.

Goodwitch sighed, "Ozp- no, we all thought it better to keep the Maidens' secret. If their power was known then the largely petty and small scale conflicts we have now would inevitably be turned into an arms race again as nations and groups vied for the power of the seasons."

Ren shook his head, "That's not what I meant… What I'm asking is, why did you tell everyone Pyrrha was dead, even making a false grave? Why lie about her?" Her initial refusal to tell Nora and himself about the Maidens was understandable; however being left in the dark about their friend was not.

"Oh," the Professor looked as if that was an after thought to her, "well that's bec-"

"Because they can't protect her." Jaune piped up letting the arm he had previously covering his eyes fall to the side as he gave Glynda another incredulous look, "That's right, isn't it? All this time you've all been going on and on about protecting the kingdoms and the world but now you aren't even sure you can protect yourselves… let alone any of us." she didn't respond and Jaune scoffed at the thought, "That's what I thought. So now you just leave her in that pod and wait for your lies to become truth."

"But isn't there something we can do?" Ruby pleaded while trying not to meet Jaune's gaze.

A gruff ahem echoed through the chamber catching everyone's attention, "What do you think we're doing right now?" the voice was slightly hoarse and deep, and emanated from behind a bushy beard set on an aging face. A man was approaching them from the entrance; stocky in build and wearing a grey lab coat the tanned skin was wrinkled on his face and forehead as if in constant thought with duping eye lids half covering the steely green orbs beneath. His brown hair was striped white with age and arrayed in a messy plume as if he had recently received a great shock which countered his otherwise neatly trimmed mustache and beard. His hands were broad but he carried no weapons of any kind save for a small standard hammer on a tool belt at his waist with multiple pouches interspersed along its length. He gruffed as he looked from one youth to the next and finally stopped to stare at Jaune.

"Doctor Polendina." Goodwitch greeted the man and stepped back to make way for him to pass.

"You there, young man, would you mind too terribly…" he paused getting a little closer until he was face to face with Jaune, "Shutting the hell up?"

A unanimous, "Huh?" was their reply.

"Seriously, I've been listening in for a little while now and all I've heard is you whine, whine, whine! Do you honestly think you and your friends are alone in their grief? I watched my daughter get torn apart at that blasted tournament!" he reached down with his large hands and pulled Jaune to his feet, "And Glynda just lost her closest friend! While you've been moping about, even though your friend still has a chance for recovery!" he pushed Jaune back into the wall and turned his back to him to walk to the control panel of the pod and began typing in commands.

"Wait, you mean there's something we can do?"

"Of course there is! You're alive, aren't you? And so is she! If you've got time to be moody then you have time to be useful." he began grumbling under his breath about kids these days have no drive and what happened to Huntsmen being relentless as Jaune stepped up to look at Pyrrha. "We've kept her survival quiet so that Witch and her cronies don't come and finish the job. Ms. Nikos here touched the power of Fall, but did not receive it entirely. There is a chance that to ensure she can't become a threat to them in the future they would come to finish her off. So yes, we lied out of fear. Now, please; Shut the hell up!" He went back to typing, "With all this racket it's a wonder she didn't wake up."

Glynda stepped up to bat with exposition next, "You're correct, Mr. Ark, we can't protect her. We don't know what is going to happen tomorrow and we don't know if what we are doing today is right. Because we don't know all we can do is what we think is best at this very moment."

Nora, who had quietly been crouched beside Pyrrha's capsule, spoke in a harshly strained and unusually quiet voice, "Sir? you said we - uh. Will she, you know, wake up?"

"Given time? Perhaps. There is much we don't know about auras, and our best source of information is lost to us at the moment," Glynda shot him a glance and the man cleared his throat before continuing, "but there is always the chance. Currently we are charging her up like a battery, and so far the signs are good. Ms. Nikos strikes me as a fighter, otherwise she never would have been able to take on my Penny! So unlike Mr. Mopey over there she's got a shot." he shot Jaune a glare, "You would have just keeled over before the fight started."

Ruby's voice was taken form her as she stared at the man. So this is penny's father she thought in wonder. Penny had barely mentioned him to her but it was clear she thought the world of him. Ruby wanted to apologize, to say something to him, but her throat was stanch and her mind blank. Whatever could she say?

Jaune, however, was not so pinned. Tightening his grip Jaune bore the insults which he saw as valid. He'd been warned not to go thinking it was someone's fault just moments ago by Qrow but he still got caught up in his emotions. Taking a deep breath he spoke, "What do I do then?"

"I told you; shut up and wait!"

"That's not good enough! You said that there is only a chance that Pyrrha may come around, what can I do to help her? There has to be something!"

Taking a moment to consider Jaune question the old man hummed and scratched the back of his neck, "Well, there may be one way… but no," he waved the thought away with a dismissive gesture, "You kids would never be able to handle it."

"What?!" Jaune was fully invested, "No no no! You don't just leave that bait out there, what were you thinking just now?"

"You'd just get yourself killed."

Jaune looked like he wanted to shout. Ruby stepped behind the doctor and took his coat gingerly in her hand, cutting off the teen boy's thought. "Please… Please tell us." she gripped tighter, "What can we do to help?" all he could see of the girl was her dark red hair as she had her head bowed.

Doctor Polendina was a man with a large amount of facial hair but almost no eyebrows (having burned them off many a time) yet what little brows he did have danced up and down his forehead with every retort throughout the conversation. However when Ruby made her plea they rested soundly in deep thought; so this is the girl who my Penny called friend. He didn't know why he waited so long, he knew his answer before he had even been asked, "You lot need to think more," he groaned as he rubbed the back of his head.

-vvvvv-

"I wish you hadn't told them that." Glynda lamented.

The older gentleman huffed, "You think not telling them that would have kept them from going? Please! That was always Oliver's biggest failure; keeping things too close to the chest. I had hoped that when Ozpin was passed the cane he'd leave that little personality quirk in the past...ah but no such luck."

"He had a lot of good qualities too."

"Yes, he did." the old man agreed, "But even he admitted that his mistakes were usually on an abnormally grand scale, and it feels to me he wasn't watching too careful for his next mistake. Perhaps His many lives have made him a bit careless." Glancing over his shoulder the old scientist could tell he was making Glynda uneasy. He cleared his throat, "Still he never gave up. You know what I think?"

"Do I want to?"

"If you ask me I'd say that there are pretty lies and ugly truths, yet while the lies can't change anything the truth can and maybe with a little bit of work, that'll be what makes this world become something beautiful." he stopped typing and lowered his hands as the holographic keyboard disappeared, "I just hope I'm alive to see it, at least once. We can't all be immortal, after all."

"Huh… talk about an ugly truth."

-vvvvv-

By the time Ruby and Qrow got home the sun had set and the house was dark. Quietly they crept up the stairs to the porch. As Ruby put weight on a rickety board a faint screech eliminated from the floor. Turning sharply to her Qrow pressed his finger to his lips for silence as she grimaced in apology. To say this was not the first time the two had tried to sneak back into the house was beyond an understatement. Carefully Ruby slid her key into the knob and turned the tumblers. As quietly as they could they opened the door and stepped into the entryway. Looking about Ruby let out a whispered sigh of relief, "I think we're in the clear."

Qrow chuckled, "Yeah, Tai is still gonna chew me in the morning though." he quietly replied.

"Nope!" both of the creepers frozen in terror as the light in the living room suddenly cut on. "I'm gonna chew you now." Tai informed them matter-of-factly. Tai and Yang were seated on the sofa, arms and legs crossed in an authoritative pose mirroring each other.

"Your dinner got cold." Yang tutted with a raised eyebrow. Ruby fell to her knees in defeat as Qrow scratched the back of his head in an attempt to look innocent.

The chewing commenced. Yang gave Ruby an ear full about staying out late and not calling home whenever she had the chance while Tai grilled Qrow about being more responsible. Though none were acutely aware of it, this was the happiest they had been in the long week since the battle. Being berated and questioned while being forced to sit at the table and apologize to Tai for having to heat up the food was the most normal and comfortable thing that Ruby had experienced in what felt like a lifetime. When all the chastising had been done there were legitimate smiles all around and the room was far warmer than dinner had been.

Still, sleep would elude Ruby that night as she thought about what Dr. Polendina had told them. It gave them clear direction but the process would be far more difficult to achieve. Her mind replayed the interaction again;

"'You lot need to think more!" his flared hair waved as the barrel chested scientist shook his head, "if Cinder Fall stole Pyrrha Niko's Aura then all you have to do is go get it back!"

Ruby and the others looked between themselves. "Wait, that's really possible?"

"Look. I can't guarantee anything, of course, but it stands to reason if that Witch is leeching away your friend's Aura because she is connected to Fall's power than if you were to put a stop to that parasite Ms. Nikos would recover her own strength, and given that Ms. Nikos has already bonded with Fall's power there is a good chance the Maiden's power would also return to her. With that kind of strength she may be able to recover from even the worst of her physical injuries."

Jaune scratched his chin, "Right… if Cinder is the one syphoning Pyrrha's energy then all we have to do is kill her and the assault on Pyrrha stops." Ruby didn't like the look in Jaune's eyes when he said that. Here her friend was talking casually about ending another person's life and she wasn't sure how she felt. On the one hand Cinder was not someone she empathized with at all, but on the other she was a person and killing her wasn't like killing some Grimm that would just fade away into smoke. "But that wont be easy."

"That's not your job. That's ours. You kids just have to focus on being ready to stand against the enemies next move." Goodwitch asserted..

"We have to go! We've been learning to save people! You've been training us to do exactly this!" Jaune roared

"No, Mr. Arc," she was cold and absolute, "We've been teaching you to be Huntsmen. Not assassins." Jaune squared shoulders fell slightly but Goodwitch class was still in session, "If you think the difference is slight then you really don't belong here."

They all held their tongue to that.

The group separated shortly after when Dr. Polendina kicked them out. He only just got Jaune to leave by convincing him that his time would be better spent preparing and promising that he'd send a message if her status changed. Ren probably used his semblance to calm the other team leader enough for that argument to work. While JNPR headed off to their temporary dorm Ruby waited for her Uncle. She wanted to go back down and speak with the doctor but found that there was little she could think to say. On the way out she and Nora had thanked him but the man was far to absorbed to acknowledge them and it was all Ruby could do to even speak that much. By the time Qrow emerged form the tower night had fallen.

"Hey, Kiddo, you didn't have to wait for me." He smiled. Ruby flashed a hollow grin back before falling into step on the way home. She knew she was probably going to be leaving soon; heading off to do more. Qrow probably knew it too however he never said a word. Ruby was grateful for that. She was so unsure of everything that the even the evening's pleasant moments were overshadowed. Her joy at seeing Pyrrha alive was tainted by a twinge fear that it could all be taken away suddenly. No restful sleep came that night, and to be honest she wasn't sure she wanted any too.

Somehow she still drifted. Barely aware of the moons slow traverse of the starry sky and separate from the ticking of the clock beside her. When she finally snapped from that dreamless and drowsy trance she did so to the ringing of a bell on her bedside table. Reaching over to hit the snooze button she found the ringing did not quiet. She turned against the restraint and warmth of the covers surrounding her to the cold side of the bed and looked at the source of the sound. Her clock read 02:54 which was a far cry from her set alarm of 07:30, yet it was not the origin of the noise, which had become muffled and dull. Reluctantly lifting herself up she looked to the floor and the light of her fallen scroll. The screen showed the goofy Jaune stumbling in class. She crawled to the edge of the bed, attempting to retain as much cover as she could and reached out to hit the answer button, "Hello?"

The voice on the other line was horse and breathless and back dropped by static as if he was running, "She's up!"

"Ruby shook the last vestiges of her near sleep form her mind, "What? Who's up?"

"Pyrrha! She's awake!"

-vvvvv-

Remnant was in chaos; Grimm stampeding across the continents, commerce brought to a grinding halt by suspicions between nations, and villages scrambling to build their defenses or flee before the mounting threats both human and otherwise. Yet while nearly every person had seen or heard of the event that would come to be called the Festival of Fear the key word was nearly. Vale was a large kingdom. So large that in one remote corner, far from even other villages, was a small farming community which hadn't yet heard of the troubles of the outside world.

Fields of various colors and sizes waved in the wind as the bright sun crested the horizon and stirred the inhabitants from their slumber. One freckled inhabitant tried to fight the encroaching rays and wakefulness but to no avail. Reluctantly eyes of green and yellow slowly opened and greeted that new dawn. He fought as long as he could but, reluctantly, he finally gave in and rose from the comfortable warmth of his bed. He had to grind the dust for the compactor, pump the water for the trough, fill the baler with straps and hay, feed the animals, and finally wash up for breakfast before a long day on the farm; there was much to do. So very much to do.


	4. By My Shoulder

Chapter 3:  
By My  
Shoulder

"…And by my shoulder protect thee." Those words had echoed in Jaune's ears from the moment Pyrrha had pushed him into the locker at Beacon. Try as he might he couldn't remember how she had started that passage and that terrified him. And thus he had taken to actively forcing that memory to replay in his mind for fear he would forget the sound of her voice, her touch, her smell, or her… He was truly terrified he'd forget. The moment he'd seen her in that steel pod beneath the tower his throat had caught and his chest tightened even greater than when they had when he had watched her faux casket being lowered. Grieve tempered to a blade by guilt had struck him then. He had turned that memory into a mantra at that moment and, even though he hadn't realized it himself, the voice had changed from her to his own. No longer a memory for him, but now a promise by him.

So he basked in ever repeating round of Pyrrha's words, the mantra a cadence to the pace of his feet on the sidewalks. After the battle the students had been moved from the dorms to a hotel a little over a mile into the city. The streets here were largely untouched save for a few scatterings of rubble here and there that had, for the most part, been gathered. The people of Remnant were quick to pick up the pieces. He didn't know how many laps of his chosen path between the Hotel and the Eastern Landing Pad he'd made that night and he didn't care.

His legs and joints ached and his lungs burned yet he paid them no mind; instead simply letting the cooling fall air assault his throat and the mantra grow louder in his ears against the wind. Pyrrha would be angry with his latest adjustments to his training regime that she had built for him but he needed to blow off some steam. With Ren and Nora still grappling with the realizations of the day, and waiting on Jaune to come around, he couldn't have bothered either to spar with him. So running it was. Running as far as his legs would let him. So long as he had that memory he'd not need to slow or divert.

However, something strange was happening. As he tried to recall her voice from the moment she'd pushed her own aura into him, without his notice, the voice he heard slowly began to change. The strides got easier as his legs felt lighter. His mind cleared without the constant sting in his lungs pressing upon his focus. At some point he had stopped remembering Pyrrha as she had been near a year ago and instead envisioned her as she was at that moment; Still and cold in the metal pod beneath Beacon. At some point Pyrrha's voice was no longer the one speaking to him; It had become his own promise spoken to her. the same words echoed in his head as an oath to himself that he would be the shoulder that protects now.

Jaune never looked to at his reflection in the glass windows of the buildings he passed. He never looked into the faces of the few others who were out on the streets. He never noticed the soft glow that had enveloped his body or the well of light that began to emanated from his eyes. He was too absorbed in his own head to even see the bit of rubble that had yet to be swept off the concrete at the next bend. His foot, however, was not too absorbed in thought to miss catching on it. Jaune stumbled forward and whipped his hands out to catch his fall with a sharp yelp. Momentum carried him forward into a roll until he came to rest against the side of the nearest building.

"Ow… that was- ouf- graceful." he commented quietly to himself. He was fortunate that he'd rolled toward the building and not the street but still not so fortunate that he had just rolled forward instead of trying to catch himself as he was trained to. His hands, bloody and speckled with debris, had taken the brunt of the fall. Wincing as he pushed himself up with his forearms to lean against the wall Jaune kicked himself for not paying attention again. Pyrrha would be really pissed if I got hit by a car after all that work she put in to train me. he thought as he rested his elbows on his knees and caught his breath. Looking around he tried to gather his bearings, having lost all notion of his location while running single-mindedly.

He'd somehow managed to fall right at the end of his latest path away from the Hotel as across the street was the open expanse of the Landing Pad, several large Shuttles still in dock. Normally half of these shuttles would have docked at the Beacon side of the cliffs so that Huntsmen and Huntresses in training could take them to the city but with the school abandoned there were almost too many for the dock to handle. A three story turret in the middle of the pavilion was the pilot shack and control center. The bottom story was open to the air with numerous counters where the tickets were sold. a pole with a blinking light on top just in front of the ticket counters bore a white sign with a large red cross; one of the cities numerous public first aid stations. Looking from the pole to his hands Jaune started the arduous task of standing up.

Not wanting to bloody his jeans he was careful to keep his palms away from his knees and instead had to brace his back against the building and shimmy his way up. His legs screamed against the action and he hissed through gritted teeth, suddenly acutely aware of how far he must have pushed himself. So that's why Pyrrha always said to only go for a few miles at most, awesome. It took a few tries to get himself standing but once he'd finally managed to get up and waddle to the post he grimaced and reached into his hoodie to carefully take out his scroll and press it to the box. It beeped having registered his usage of the kit and the boxes door opened with a click and he got to work tending his wounds.

A small bottle of water mixed with sanitizer washed the scrapes and cuts of the bits of stone and glass, with a fair bit of sting to let him know it was working. Ow ow ow ow ow! Finally done rinsing the wounds he wrapped his palms in gauze. He almost shut the box then but feeling the throbbing in his legs he clicked a dispenser for a pain killer and swallowed the pill then closed the kit. He knew his aura would allow him to heel before too long, and the cuts weren't that deep, but he also remembered Ren chastising him about proper care for his many injuries. Looking down at his haphazard job of applying bandage to himself he sighed and stuck his hands in his hoodie to start the long walk back.

He'd barely winced through two steps before his scroll began to vibrate in his pocket. Succumbing to his exhaustion from the day and his exercise he didn't bother checking the ID before answering, "Hello?"

"Yeah, this is that whiny kid from earlier, right?" a horse and familiar voice hauntingly asked.

Jaune blinked in confusion, "What the-? How did you get my number?"

"Bit of an obvious answer to that, unless you weren't acting and you really are that dumb." he coughed and cleared his throat, "Anyway, I promised Glynda I'd let you know if Ms. Nikos woke up. so I am. she regained concio…." Jaune didn't hear the rest. he didn't care. Before the man had finished getting the words out of his mouth the teen was already rushing to the shuttle counter and pounding on the door to the upper floors. The ships didn't run this late but there were pilots on duty at all times just in case of emergency. he figured this counted. If he couldn't convince them then he'd just find the nearest locker.

-vv- Vale; Xiao Long Residence -vv-

Ruby was still stunned, "Hello? Ruby? Are you there?" Jaune's voice called from the receiver that had drifted from her face. It was cold in her room, the chilly nights of autumn always hit the forest the hardest, and the darkness was only cut by the light of her scroll so she didn't notice the small wet tracks that tears had built on her face as they welled from her eyes. A chilling tear drop landed on the back of her supporting hand to cut the last vestiges of sleep from her mind.

"Yeah! Yeah, Jaune, I'm here. That's just- just great news." She rubbed her face and sniffed back her tears, "Where are you?"

"I'm on a Shuttle to Beacon, took some convincing but it was an emergency so I managed somehow. Ren and Nora are already on their way too, you need to hurry, we don't know how long she'll be awake for. But it's gotta be a good sign!"

Ruby hopped out of her bed and hit the bedside light while running to her closet, "Yeah, I'll head that way soon! I'll get Uncle Qrow to take me! That's terrific news Jaune!" they spoke for a few more moments before the manic Jaune finally hung up letting Ruby shuffle out of her oversized pajamas and get into a grey thermal sweater shirt and some black running pants with red piping. Rushing into the family room she dove onto the couch shoulder first with a cry, "Uncle Qrow!"

The couch let out a huff as she landed. Qrow was trying to sleep on the furniture as he always did when drunk. His arms flailed as he was assaulted and he nearly swung but he had tempered his combat reflects over years of rough housing with his nieces. "Jeez!" he winced as he sat up and held Ruby aloft at arm's length before dropping her onto the floor beside the couch with a thud, "What's up, Kiddo?" he asked with a yawn, rubbing his glazed and sleepy eyes.

"I need you to take me to Beacon, right away!" she tugged at his collar to get him off the couch, to no avail, "Jaune called and said Pyrrha woke up! Come on, come one, come on!" she insisted, pulling harder on a different limb each time.

Qrow slowly roused himself and stretched before retrieving his things, including his Scythe. Casting an eye to Ruby he noticed she was in unusual attire and unarmed, "Grab your kit, Kiddo, there are still Grimm that have managed to lay low about."

Ruby sped to the closet near the front door in a flash of red and whipped it open. She retrieved her ammo belt and her best, non sentient friend; Crescent Rose. She clicked the belt on and grabbed one of several identical cloaks from a rack by the door before turning to Qrow, "Ready!" she announced.

Qrow, barely past half asleep, smiled at her enthusiasm. He patted her on the head and both stepped to the door. Ruby glanced over her shoulder back into the halls. Yang's door stoop closed in the dark, like a question Ruby had no answer to. She wanted to go wake her sister, to tell her about Pyrrha, perhaps offering her a bit of solace to the turbulent troubles in her mind. But something held her back; a memory. She couldn't shake the memory of Yang's face after she had awoken nor could she stop thinking about how she'd been so adamant about not attending the memorial. All told the once happy and outgoing Yang was broken in a way Ruby didn't know how to fix, and all she could think about was that if she wasn't careful about where she stepped she could end up breaking her beloved sister even further.

The man noticed her internal struggle but decided to say nothing, instead just taking a swig from his flask. True, he knew that they should have told Yang what was going on last night, but as Ruby never broached the subject he'd elected to keep his mouth shut. His family wasn't particularly good at communication so he had no right to complain or judge. Instead he opened his scroll and selected an option that pinged a nearby patrol craft. Huntsmen were able to commandeer the City Police VTOLs to rapidly deploy, and he'd used this system many times to his advantage. More times than not he used the system for unofficial purposes, I.E.; he had a lecture coming his way later but tonight was legitimate. An alert on the screen informed him that a near by craft would be at a rendezvous point in a few minutes not far from the house. He grasp Ruby by the shoulder, "Time's wasting, kiddo, we gotta move before our ride gets here.

Ruby agreed and together they headed out the doorway. She cast one long silver glance at the door in the hall before finally shutting the front door and locking the bolt.

-vv- Vale: Beacon Landing Pad -vv-

The Shuttle's ramp was grinding along, gliding steadily from the top of the hatch to the bottom, at a pace that was far too slow for Jaune. At some point the ramp reached a 45 degree incline and Jaune saw enough room if he ducked. The jump was higher than he'd expected, being that he had launched himself out the back of the shuttle with little regard for the total distance he hadn't even considered that the fall might have been greater than the view from within the vessel had indicated. It was a good fifteen foot fall and would definitely have hurt had his training not paid off for once. He activated his aura and dove into the fall, rolling along the ground and coming up running toward the tower in the distance.

He had nothing else on his mind anymore since he'd already contacted the others while able to do nothing else on the ride up to the plateau. Jaune had made sure to tell the pilot there were more on their way. Nora and Ren would likely be at the other pad by the time the shuttle got back, and Ruby said she was coming with her Uncle so, being a full fledged Huntsmen, he'd probably call for a direct shuttle and be there before long as well. "I'll I've got to do is not trip on my way to the stairs!... Again." He commented to himself.

The campus was more apocalyptic at night than it had been that day, bringing memories of the battle fresh to his mind as he entered the main floor of the tower. He was concerned about what he'd do to get the hidden stair to be accessible but the stone was already moved aside as if awaiting his arrival. Retching the steel door that remained open he bolted down the stairs. He took the steps two at a time, sometimes more, and had to sling his body around the platform at the first six doors. When finally he came to the sixth he was winded, a common feat that evening, but never paused as he pulled at the latch. He nearly pulled his shoulder out as the locked door refused to budge. Frustration mounted as Jaune tried to push the door next to no avail. He slammed his fist against the steel several times had enough that he knew they would bruise. His voice reverberated up the shaft as he shouted through the barrier, "Hey! Doctor! It's Jaune! Open up!"

Nothing.

Jaune Pounded and called again but nothing changed. Finally he tried one more time, "Please, Doctor, It's the Mopey Guy! Can you open the do-ooour!" Without warning the door shunted back and slapped Jaune in the face. He stumbled back holding his nose onto the landing.

"Oh! Hey, didn't hear ya out here with all that racket some idiot was making, come on in!" The disheveled scientist exclaimed with too much glee. Jaune groaned as he stood and trounced into the undercroft. At any other moment he might have at least tried to stand up for himself but the moment his eyes caught on the open hatch of the pod at the end of the long hall he stepped forward to break into another run. He made it about two steps before something snagged his hoodie and brought him, once again, to the ground. "Now hold your horses, kid, you're way too wound up!" the doctor advised, "Look, seriously, she's still in a delicate condition, don't go getting overly excited and causing her undue stress."

For the first time, at least when speaking to Jaune, the man's voice was measured and genial. Standing slowly the teen made to advance only to turn around and put out his hand, "Sorry, Doc, you're right. Thanks."

Twitching his mustache and beards side to side the large man sighed and accepted the youth's outstretched hand, "Yeah, kid, you're welcome."

"I'm Jaune Arc, by the way."

"Doctor Polendina." He pulled his hand from Jaune's grasp and motioned for him to move on, "Get going, she's waiting on you."

Jaune didn't need any further provocation as he headed across the expansive hall to the Pod. The doctor, perhaps wanting to give them as much privacy as the massive echoing space allowed, stepped through the door and into the stair well. That was out of sight and out of mind for Jaune. He had a laser focus on the girl laying in the pod before him.

The device had been inclined to more closely resemble a hospital bed. Pyrrha was snoozing softly in the white linen that surrounded her, her red hair ringing her pale head in contrast. Jaune slowed as he got closer from his jog and gingerly approached the device. Until now he hadn't had a clear view of her condition. The tube that circled her face just beneath her nose, the IV bandaged to her arm, and the wraps across her shoulders and legs drove her status home. Her hair was dull compared to its usual sheen and her face sullen, her eyes closed and ringed by dark circles. Her lips that had been so soft and warm that night were now glazed and slightly chapped. Her skin was taught across her face and arms but most startlingly was the lack of color to her. Pyrrha had always been pale however at that moment it would be a contest to who would vanish into the snow faster, Weiss or Pyrrha. She looked like a corpse. He had to grasp the side of the capsule to steady his legs.

Jaune thought he had prepared himself for seeing her on the ride to the academy however all his bravado had fled in the presence on his teammate. He hated that she was hurting so but even now he did not discount her beauty. She was wizen and wasted and still through it all kept her fairness. He was acutely aware of the soft, rhythmic hiss of the breathing device and of the sharp, merciless beep of the vitals monitor. The two sounds stung his ears with the reality of how close to death she had come. He ground his teeth at the thought that he'd taken to long and she was asleep again.

Hours ago when he'd first seen her in the pod he'd done his best to keep his actions in check but his anger had boiled over. Now it was elation that was breaching his emotional levees. His eyes glistened with moisture as he fought back tears, not wanting to look so sappy if she should open her eyes. His hands witched and trembled with desire to take hers, to caress her face, and to share his warmth with her but he hesitated. He may have just stood there looking remorseful until the others had come along had his eyes not fixated on her face.

A band of her fiery bangs had draped down obscuring part of that beautiful face from him. Before he could think to stop it his fingers reached up and brushed the hair behind her ear in a tinder motion. The feel of her velvet skin beneath his fingers brought a genuine smile to his face. As his arm moved from her face he found a startling green shining at him.

Pyrrha was snoozing soundly, barely able to keep her eyes open until the moment that she had felt a hand on her face. She recognized those slightly calloused and gentle fingers. Opening her eyes she found the sight of a slightly smiling Jaune. The EKG beeped faster with the sudden surge in her pulse. Jaune! she thought as her parched mouth tried to speak but no sound came out I thought I'd never see you again! She pleaded for the strength to speak as tiny chills ran down her face on the tracks of her tears. She tried to vocalize again but only managed a horse, "Jus…" before a coughing fit hit. Her body barely shook at the tiny coughs that it was able to muster.

The young man was momentarily transfixed by those piercing green eyes. Her skin had paled and her hair turned dull but her eyes had lost none of their vibrancy. When she began to cough he realized she must be thirsty and looked about for something to give her. Mercifully there was a glass of water and a straw sitting on a small table beside the bed. Reaching across her he was reminded how slender he was as he didn't stretch in the slightest to reach it. The pod was clearly designed for women, as he doubted his frame could fit within the device. "Hold on, don't try to talk yet." he cautioned as he brought the glass to her face. Leaning in he gently wormed her arm behind her head to help her sit up enough to drink and spun the straw to her lips. "Here, drink slow now."

Pyrrha gratefully accepted and had a few gulps. It was painful to swallow but she did so. After a few sips she nodded in appreciation. For several moments they quietly looked at one another, both torn between speaking and wanting to let that moment last forever; with Jaune cradling her in his arm and leaned in it was almost an embrace. Finally Jaune broke the silence, "You're alive."

"I'm alive." she parroted in a choked voice, "And you're here."

"I'm here."

Pyrrha struggled but finally got her hand to respond, raising her right hand to take his left. Jaune grasp it tightly and held on. "I-I thought that… when I left."

"I'm sorry." Jaune tightened his grip on her hand as he turned from her, unable to look her in the eye. "I should'a- I wasn't-"

"It's alright Jaune. I'm sorry too." Words were near useless to them as Jaune knelt by her bedside without ever releasing her hand and placed a small kiss on her forehead.

"I promise I'm gonna help you get better, Pyrrha," He whispered, "this time, by my shoulder I'll protect you"

"Thank you, Jaune." Pyrrha squeaked out, "What happened at the battle?"

Jaune filled her in, doing the lions share of the talking, while the exhausted Pyrrha listened in. "You did it, Pyrrha, you made the difference." he told her while pulling up a nearby stool, "Your fight kept Cinder there, kept her and her dragon from scattering more Grimm around the city. Then when Ruby hit them with… uh… you know, I don't exactly know what Ruby and you did up there but I know whatever it was it worked. Cinder and her pals were forced to retreat and we were able to hold the city…" He looked away, "But, uh."

"But what?"

For a moment he considered lying to her, glossing over the situation and leaving her only with the good news. However knowing he didn't want to lie to her about anything anymore drove him onward, "The tower can't transmit. We've got short range signals and can pick up transmissions from the other kingdoms but we can't call out… it's, huh, it's been a difficult few weeks." He forced himself to look her in the eyes again, "I've called the others, their on their way. Everybody made it through. Us, Ruby's team… although Yang was injured but she'll be fine. a few of the upperclassmen were hurt too. We lost several fourth year teams entirely, but Goodwitch think's their is still hope that they might make contact."

Pyrrha was surprised to hear that, "Goodwitch?" momentary curiosity for why Ozpin wasn't taking control was replaced by understanding, "So Cinder wasn't lying. She really did get Professor Ozpin?" Jaune nodded. "Jaune, that's- ugh" She broke into a fit of coughs for a moment that made Jaune stand up in alarm. "I-I'm Fi-fine, Jaune, ahem, I'm fine. Just... really tired." she admitted.

"Okay, "He leaned in and helped her get back into a comfortable position, "I'll tell the guys. We aren't going anywhere, you just rest and get better. Okay?" Jaune wasn't sure what took him at that moment but something drove his next move. He leaned in and gave Pyrrha a tender kiss on her forehead an wrapped his arms around her; entangling her in an embrace and holding her close.

She desperately wanted nothing more than to steal this time and stop the world from turning. She didn't want to speak, or tell him her own truth. Radiating his warmth with hers. they stayed like that for quite some time before she finally worked up the nerve to break the silence, "Jaune?" she whispered.

He had a gentle smile on his lips that hadn't left them since he'd held her close, "Hmm?"

"I… uh… I have to tell you something." her voice cracked along with his smile.

-vv- Vale: Beacon Undercroft -vv-

How she managed to keep herself awake for so long actually surprised the doctor; however by the time he returned with Nora and Ren in tow Pyrrha was fast asleep, her fingers still intertwined with Jaune's. "Sorry guys." he addressed his friends, "She fell asleep a few minutes ago." Jaune avoided eye contact, a trait only Ren seemed to pick up on.

"No, it's fine!" Nora assured through large tearful eyes full of glee and disappointment! "But she's okay?"

"She needs her rest so keep it down, you lot." the doctor advised as he adjusted her bed back down into a laying position and checked her monitors. "I wasn't sure she'd wake up at all. I told you she was a fighter. However I'm going to put her on a sedative to help her rest. She may have come around but she needs more sleep to continue her recovery." he advised.

"So, we won't get to see her?" Nora asked hesitantly.

Sighing the doctor blushed, apparently weak to young girls' sad looks, "I'll calculate the dosage so she should wake up tomorrow morning. You can come see her then, all of you."

"He's right. Let's go talk in one of the class rooms." Ren suggested as he wanted to know what had driven Jaune into a corner of his own mind.

As the teens turned to head up the stairs the Doctor huffed, "Qrow, a moment, please." The older huntsman gestured for the kids to continue on their own. Ruby was curious but only so much that she was the last to leave, closing the steel door behind her.

As many can attest there are few things creepier than a school building after dark. It feels alien and empty with a healthy dash of quiet noises that while ever present were near taken notice of during the hustle of the day. Imagine how creepy a familiar building like that must feel after a war has struck. Beacon sent a chill up their spines like a haunted house at a carnival. Taking the familiar corridors around to one of the annex buildings, stepping past holes in the walls and piles of rubble, the group arrived at Professor Port's class room. Ruby tried the handle for the door only to find it would to turn. However a high pitched creaking sound that echoed through out the hall clued her in to step back. Her touch had destabilized the door and after a moment of resistance it tilted back and fell inward with a loud bang.

When the team had picked theirs jaws off the floor, next to the door, they stepped into the classroom. The desks were torn apart, clear paths of damage detailed a fight that covered the room; the front table was broken a third of the way down, bullet holes peppered the black board, and every tier higher into the stadium seating had less seats than the last. Gathering around the front row, where Ruby and Nora took a seat and the men simply formed a ring in front, they took a moment to take stock. "This has been a lot to take in." Ruby admitted grasping her head.

"That's putting it mildly." Nora agreed, putting her head down.

Jaune placed a hand on Ren's shoulder, "Sorry you guys didn't get here before she fell asleep again." Ren and Nora gave him reassuring smiles but they did little to assuage his guilt.

"Its okay, we're just happy she's awake." Ruby asserted, "So, uh. how did she look? Did she talk to you?"

"She, well, she spoke and uh… other stuff," he paused, searching for the right words, remembering the moments they had shared, and trying to stifle the blush that came to his cheeks, "Well she's, Ahem!" he pointedly cleared his throat at the two giggling girls; Clearly his blush had not gone unnoticed as he had hoped.

He wished he could let that jovial moment linger but knew time wasn't on their side and moved past it, "Yeah, anyway, it's not all good news." he felt the slight amusement drain from the air, "She's weak, which is a phrase I didn't ever think I'd use for Pyrrha, but even with waking up she isn't recovering. The doctor says her regaining consciousness means that the machine should be working but he told- uh... H-her vitals haven't changed near as much as they should have… So, even now we-uh." he sighed, "Look, I don't know! I just, I don't think- arg why is this so hard to say!"

Ruby raised a surprised brow, "Uh, Jaune, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not, but that doesn't matter right now." he took a deep breath and held it for several seconds to steady himself before continuing, "Pyrrha, she," he swallowed hard, "she can't feel her legs."

Everyone straightened out, sitting or standing taller and uncrossing their arms, "Wait, you mean? Did the doctor say if she was- you know." Nora questioned shyly.

"Yeah." Jaune confirmed, "All the signs point to nerve damage from the battle. He told me even if she recovers she'll probably never walk again." he took a second, "Pyrrha's been paralyzed."

Ren was normally unreadable, keeping his emotions in check, however as if Jaune saying the words actually finalized the truth to him his facade of control fell slightly, "That can't… Pyrrha is the strongest of us all, there is no way that…" taking a tighter grip in his hands and on his emotions he stopped, "What else?"

"As I said, her vitals aren't improving either. Dr. Polendina told me that she shouldn't have woken up at all yet. There was a spike just over two hours ago, just before she regained consciousness, but it wasn't something he said he could explain."

Ruby thought back to Yang and what she'd told her the day she had awoken, "Sometimes things happen… good and bad." she actually smiled without much effort, "We've been having so many bad things happen lately I'd say we were owed a miracle or two."

"Yeah… we should take what we can get." Jaune was looking at his palm, the one that had held Pyrrha's hand for so long. Still, if her vitals don't improve she'll… he grasp his fist tightly closed around the resolve he had summoned from that terrifying thought, "Guys, I know it's stupid and dangerous. But… I'm still going after Cinder."

Ren, Nora, and Ruby all looked between each other, faces wrinkled in confusion. Finally Nora turned to Jaune with a blunt response, "Uh, duh."

"Wha-?"

"Of course we're still going. What, that was even a question?"

Jaune went slack-jawed, "Um, I'll repeat; Wha?"

"Just because Pyrrha woke up doesn't change what Cinder did," Ren added, "And like Goodwitch said, 'even if we let it go she'd just come back and finish the job.' That woman is like a weed and we need to take her out by the root, otherwise she'll continue to be a problem."

"Exactly," Ruby jumped in, "We've got to stop her!" she thought back to how she felt holding Penny in her arms, "Pyrrha, Yang… Penny… They aren't the only people she hurt." Standing she leaned over the banister desk and put her hand out in a fist. Nora quickly grinned and did the same, placing her fist next to Ruby's. Ren huffed and put his fist forward next. Finally all eyes turned to Jaune.

"Right. Thanks guys." He stepped forward and added his fist to the circle. Their resolve was sealed.

-vv- Vale: Undercroft -vv-

"So, doc, what's up? Qrow inquired as the door to the stairs closed.

"Too many things to count," the grumpy scientist grumbled as he fidgeted into his pockets, "But let's start with this." after a moment he withdrew a familiar object to Qrow, indeed to all of Beacon; It was a black and silver cane handle, a large clock face medallion at the center and a glass pommel braced in silver and covering inner gear workings. The Headmaster's Cane. Ozpin's weapon was as much a symbol of the man as his coffee mug and school were. "We need him, sooner rather than later. And finding him is your job." the man handed the cane over to Qrow, who reservedly took it. "I don't suppose he ever mentioned any thing? A clue, perhaps?"

Thinking back Qrow slowly shook his head, "Nah, this wasn't at all part of his plans." the Doctor gave a weary sigh and began scratching the back of his neck. "How did you guys find him, when it happened last time?"

"Well, we didn't. He found us, really. Matter of fact I think that's typically how it went." He gestured for them to take a seat at a table and chairs that had been brought down and set to the right of the room. Polendina offered Qrow some coffee from a thermos to which the latter politely declined. "You've got to understand, usually it was expected when it finally happened;" he poured himself a cup and took a deep gulp of the steaming liquid, "Oliver, for example, went out fighting one of the Queen's Knights… I suppose Ozpin did the same. But for Oliver he went searching for the battle. He had a fortress to return to and once he awoke as Ozpin he found his way here and took up his post shortly after. But now… well."

"Now our enemy has the initiative." Qrow completed the man's thought as he opened his flask and took a gulp of his own, "So he can't really return here again. And we can bet that She is going to be busy now too, trying to capitalize on the short period of time before Oz gets back on his feet."

The doctor looked sourly at his cup, "If he gets back on his feet."

Qrow stopped mid drink and slowly sat up, placing his flask heartily onto the table, "What's that supposed to mean, Doc?" the Doctor stayed quiet, "Are you telling me he-"

"I'm not saying anything definite!" he shot back forcefully, "However…. Qrow, this is unprecedented. Never has the Wizard been felled by one of the Maidens. We're in uncharted territory." he explained, "We don't know anything about the base powers that govern these things. They defy all science and reason, which causes me no small headache!" pausing for a moment he let it sink in and took another swig of his coffee, "I'm not certain of anything and that uncertainty is why I'm telling you to get out there and try to find him. In the past he's come looking for us but that doesn't mean he'll be able too this time. If you're out there looking for him, and he is out there looking for you then it'll take half as long for you to find each other."

Qrow leaned forward and hung his head low, "You know, those kids up there are probably planning to go after that witch right now. You expect me to leave them to do that alone?"

Polendina waited for Qrow to see he was serious before answering with a resounding, "Yes." a stalemate of stares grew into an uncomfortable moment of quiet.

"Look, even if I did go out to find the next Oz we'll just pass by one another and never meet, you should keep this here for him to call for whenever he finally shows up." Qrow placed the cane on the table, slid it toward the doctor, and sat back with his arms crossed.

Polendina didn't speak until he'd finished his coffee, "Qrow, you weren't listening. He's not coming back here." he reiterated, "Cinder got the power of fall, but Fall's power doesn't access the reliquary here at Beacon. This fortress fell, Qrow, so he's not going to come here. He's going to head to where he can do the most good." he reached across and slid the cane back to Qrow. "You are who he chose for this job, Branwen, don't cop out now."

Qrow sat in quiet contemplation. When he finally chuckled slightly before picking up the cane and hooking it into his belt Polendina felt no small amount of relief, "Jeez, guess I owe you again, huh?"

"For motivating you, we'll call it even." he looked over his shoulder at Pyrrha's pod. "After all, you got me off my ass."

"Yeah… thanks again for what you've done for her." Qrow thought back to the night of the battle. He had discovered Pyrrha and Ruby atop the tower with James. Seeing how Pyrrha was clearly far more injured he'd told James to grab Ruby and take her down the tower while he brought Pyrrha to the basement. He'd found the Doctor there, inspecting the machine. He still couldn't believe his luck, "I don't know what we would have done if you weren't down here."

"Well, I was hoping the machine would be intact enough to help my Penny. But it wasn't. Still, I'm glad it could be of some use."

"I know it isn't easy for you. That's why I want to thank you, seriously, Doc. You didn't have to-"

The doctor cut him off with a waive of his hand, "Yeah I did." he stood, "Look, Qrow, I've been fighting these bastards a long, long time now. I've see them do terrible things. The moment I saw what Ms. Nikos did to my Penny I knew something was up."

Qrow stood as well, "You still watched her do it."

"It took you lot a few minutes to put 2 and 2 together with how your own niece had acted and then Ms. Nikos. I don't mean to brag but how long do you think it took a genius like me to figure it out?" He capped the thermos, fought back a coughing fit, and started walking back to the machine, "Appreciation and condolences aren't what I want out of you, Qrow, action is. Now get going. I need to tend to Ms. Nikos." Qrow didn't saw anything else and left the man to his thoughts.

As Dr. Polendina measured out the sedative and gently fed the needle into the IV from Pyrrha's arm he inwardly slapped himself again. The night Qrow had brought Pyrrha to him, bloody and wounded, he ashamedly hesitated. He almost didn't treat her, seeing only the girl who had killed his Penny. However back then he had literally slapped himself. He had hesitated the moment before putting that same IV in on the night of the battle and had instantly regretted it knowing how Penny would have been the one to hit him for such a thought. "It's hard to keep moving, as this next generation is just discovering," he inwardly mused, "but not near as hard as standing still."

-vv- Vale: Beacon Classroom 2-A -vv-

"Now that's some resolve." Qrow commented to the teens as they made their pact. He'd snuck up to the door and watched the proceeding from the hall. "So you're really going after her then?" he inquired.

Nora spoke first, "You bet your ass we are."

"Nora, language." Ren chastised half heartedly.

Jaune stepped toward Qrow, trying to keep his shoulders square and his voice even, "We can't just let them get away with this. We're Huntsmen, after all!" he was tall and confident until he deflated suddenly, "Right?"

While the youths all agreed Ruby kept a weather eye on Qrow, "Uncle Qrow? You're being awfully quiet… you're not going to try to stop us?"

Shrugging the old man just threw his hands up in a noncommittal gesture, "Why? You kids aren't stupid… well, most of you," he cast a glance at Jaune who huffed at him, "You know the risk. I'm sure you've thought this through." he stood away from the desk he'd been leaning on and beg pacing before them, "I'm sure you've all already considered that she's no ordinary opponent, she killed Ozpin for crying out loud." Nora twitched, "And I'm certain you've already thought about how you have no real idea where she went, other than 'West'. Right?" a glance at Ren made the stoic teen look away, "Plus you've all taken note of how none of you have ever been on a journey like this before and have literally no idea what you're doing. Yeah?" a look shot to Ruby and Jaune respectively made them both hang their heads.

"Look, kids. I don't think this is a good idea, you're not ready and you're not gonna succeed on your own. That said," he clapped his hands together to bring all their eyes back to him, "I know you little twerps would just go anyway. You're friend is in danger and you've lost comrades. So, rather than let you kids go off on you're own with no support why don't you come back to the house so Tai and I can plan our your journey."

Elated at his offer of help the team grinned and stood to cheer their resolve. Ruby gave Jaune a pat on the back before turning to her uncle again, "You think dad will really help?"

"Well," Qrow scratched the back of his head in thought, "Tai can be a bit hard to handle but once we explain the situation to him I don't see how he can say, 'No.'"

-vv- Vale: Xiao Long Residence -vv-

" **No!** "

"Huh, guess that's how." Qrow shrugged.

"How can you approve of this, so called, plan!?" Tai Yang roared at his teammate who shrunk back against a wall in the living room. Jaune, Rona, Ren, and Ruby all sat huddled on a single couch, awaiting punishment. Zwei had found a cozy spot on Ruby's lap and was watching the happenings with a twitching tail. Yang, however, was in the off set recliner, looking at her lap. "They! Are! Kids!" Tai continued his assault on Qrow, captivating team JNPR. Ruby, however, wasn't paying any attention. Her eyes were solely focused on Yang, whom they had told everything too when they'd arrived. Her face had been hidden by her bangs ever since. She had smiled when they told her Pyrrha was alive and dropped out of the conversation shortly there after. Ruby could just barely make out the tracks of tears that had dripped from her sister's downturned face into her palm that was resting in the center of her lap.

"Look, Tai, these guys have made up their minds; and, may I add, if that was one of our team members you'd do the same thing." He pushed Tai away from him lightly and stepped away from the wall, "Hell, we have done the same thing." Tai threw his hands up in frustration and stormed back to the chair opposite the couch. He near jumped into the chair and sat arms crossed staring the teenagers down but not saying anything.

Ruby barely registered their movements, however, as her own thoughts came to a boil and spilled out of her mouth in a strained voice, "Yang. Please, say something."

Looking up gingerly Yang tossed her hair back and sniffed hard to clear her red nose, "What do you want me to say?" she asked indignantly, "I'm thrilled Pyrrha is alive. Really, its the best news I've heard all month!" she genuinely smile for that but her eyes started to turn a darker purple as she looked to Ruby, "But," Ruby as afraid of this, "Why didn't you tell me last night, Ruby? What possible reason could you have for letting me think one of our friends was dead?"

Silence near deafened everyone in the room.

Ruby took some time before she could respond, "Yang. I, I don't know it just… I'm sorry…"

Yang stood up violently, "You know I'm really getting tired of hearing that excuse! 'I'm sorry' this, 'I'm sorry' that! Blake was sorry too but that won't bring my arm back or change how she ran away!" Her eyes flared red as she yelled but died back down when she had finished shouting. Her face and body fell as she dropped back into the chair. "If you're going to be sorry for something then don't do it in the first place." she mumbled.

"Wow…" Qrow huffed as he stepped past Tai, "You know, Yang, usually I have trouble believing you are my niece."

"Qrow." Tai hissed but when the black haired man shot him a glance the Blonde straightened his back and went silent.

Yang didn't miss that little exchange and glared at her uncle, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Blondie, normally I don't see a lick of Raven in you… well, physically sure, but you've never been like my sister." he sifted his foot back, as if bracing to strike a blow, "See you're mom wasn't' the dependable or understanding type but you? Well, you must have been trying awfully hard to break that streak."

"Now, hang on Qrow," Tai jumped in, "you both have taken this way too far."

Yang didn't look either in the eye as she whipped around the chair and darted back down the hallway toward her room. Tai immediately hit Qrow across the back of the head, thwap, and made to follow. "Wait, dad!" Ruby shot up, throwing Zwei to the ground with little ceremony; for which the annoyed corgi gave a small growl of displeasure before seeking out the now vacant chair as his new perch. Ruby stepped up and blocked his path to the back of the house, "Let me talk to her." pulling her arms close as if to shield herself she added meekly, "Please."

Tai gave it a moment's consideration before sighing loudly and hanging his head in defeat. Ruby turned without a word to head down the corridor as her Father took a seat again to speak with the others. "Fine, now walk me through your plan. If you an even call it that."

Their voices faded to Ruby as she again approached that barrier to her sisters room. It had been a long time since such borders had kept them separate; from bunk beds in the dorms room to their childhood Ruby couldn't remember a span of time that her sister had closed off her room so much. steeling her nerve she didn't knock before barreling through the door, "Yang! We have to talk." she announced with her eyes shut tight, not wanting to see her sister's furious face or what would be thrown at her. When no response but a tiny sniffle came she slowly cracked one eye. The sight shocked her other enough to demand both eyes open.

Yang was curled on her bed in a fetal position, crying softly into her arm. It was a distant memory but the last time Ruby had seen her sister like this was shortly after their mom had passed. Clutching her hands close to her chest she slowly approached, calling her sister's name softly. Yang didn't respond until tentatively Ruby placed her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Ruby… I… I'm sorry I-"

Ruby pulled her sister close into a hug and said nothing. They were sisters; words were unnecessary.

-vvvvv-

"I can't believe you want to let them do this!" Tai argued, head in his hands, "It's a suicide mission! We can't let them-"

Qrow rolled his eyes, "Oh for the millionth time we aren't letting them do anything, Tai." the blonde man stopped being dramatic, "Tai, when Summer and I were stuck behind enemy lines for two weeks Ozpin and Glynda literally locking you in the dorms didn't stop you and Raven from coming to our aid."

"Raven's Semblance made that a bit easier to manage, these kids would have to be out there on their own searching for one of the most dangerous people on the planet. She killed Ozpin!"

Qrow put his hands on his hips, 'Really? You think that matters to them? They aren't stupid, they know what they are risking. They aren't stupid, tai, but you sure are." He took out his flask and took a swig. "We can't stop these kids, okay? Get that through your blonde skull, they will do this with or without our help and as guardians one of those isn't even an option."

Tai held his ground for a few seconds but finally let out an exasperated gasp and sat back, crossing his arms, "Fine. You kids will need supplies and direction. Wish we could get you a ship but that's not really in the cards with the city on lock down and all."

"That's fine, Mr. Xiao Long, we'll find more clues if we head out on foot." Ren reasoned, "Besides, Nora and I roughed it from Mistral to Vale before. going backwards shouldn't prove much of a problem."

"Yeah!" Nora chimed in, "It was a crazy adventure! We got surrounded a dozen times but made it out by the skin of our teeth!"

"We stayed ahead of the Grimm, Nora likes to embellish." Ren explained

Jumping up Nora flexed, "Oh, and I got struck by lightning on the way!"

"That one, however, is true." he added to a slack jawed audience. Zwei made a mumble and tilted his head toward the two.

"Huh…" Qrow mused before everyone's attention turned to the hall. Ruby and Yang gingerly walked the long corridor together to rejoin the others. "You kids doing bet-ugh?!" Qrow fell backward as a pillow slammed into his face thrown by Yang.

"Yeah, we're doing fine…" She casually commented before looking to the others, "How about you guys?"

"We were just about to talk strategy. So;" Jaune cleared his throat and drew out his scroll to write on, "We'll need a map, to be sure. Also camp supplies. Water and food for five for , what do you think Ren? Three weeks?" He began a back and forth with his comrades.

"Uh, guys…." Ruby interjected. "There's only going to be four of us."

Tai looked to Yang who was again rubbing the nub of her right arm, "As I am now, I'd just get in the way. I have to get back into fighting shape." she reasoned, "If you're willing to help me, Dad?" she asked shyly.

Tai crossed the distance to her in a heartbeat and held her close, "Of course, anything for my Sunbeam." he whispered in her ear. Yang protested his being mushy in front of her friends but he wasn't willing to let go for a moment. When they finally broke apart he moved on to Ruby, "You sure about this sweetie?"

"Yeah, dad. we have to do this."

"You're not to actually engage her, you know that right. Go to Have n and find out what you can, then report back here. I can't leave," he looked to the others, "The council is going to need some hand holding from us veteran Huntsmen right now." he explained. Tai served as a representative for Signal on the Council of Vale, meaning he couldn't just up a leave and as Qrow had explained convincing Ruby to stay was not going to work.

Ruby raised her hand slightly, "What about Uncle Qrow?"

Having picked himself off the floor Qrow spoke for himself, "You kids can handle a journey to Haven. Can't cha?" he reached behind him and placed a hand on the cane's hilt, "Besides, I've got some things to look into on my end. I'll head to Mistral as soon as I'm done. Might even beat you lot there." glancing to Tai he gave his old teammate an unspoken glance that the other father returned, both catching the others meaning. "But you're journey will be dangerous. Sure you're up for it Kiddo?"

A quick glance between themselves showed none had lost the resolve they had forged in the classroom hours ago, "Count on it."

- _Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long to post. The next chapters may be shorter as 9k is a bit chewy for a single chapter. I hope you are enjoying this story! I know I'm enjoying your reviews, faves, and follows so if you liked it come join us for more! I'm not planning to write over Christmas as it is one of the few times I can see my family so the next chapter will either be short or have to wait until the new year. Have a great 2018, everyone!_

 _Oh, and as all ways, Read and Enjoy!_


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